Mahoe

Mahoe

Melicytus ramiflorus

Whiteywood

LOCATION: Found throughout New Zealand in lowland to lower mountain forest. 

DESCRIPTION: Flowers beautifully scented. Purple fruits spread by birds. Dead leaves ‘skeletonise’  leaving only the complex pattern of veins.

USES: Mahoe berries were used to make ink for Tā Moko, and were mixed with the vegetable caterpillar fungus Ophiocordyceps robertsii and various gums and oils.

Mahoe wood was also made into a soft wooden mallet for tattooing, and used to tap a small chisel made from the bone of an albatross (Meaning of Trees). 

To produce fire, Māori used flat pieces of mahoe wood rubbed vigorously with a pointed piece of kaikomako (Pennantia corymbosa).