karaka

Corynocarpus laevigatus | karaka, kopi

IMPORTANT NOTE | The inner kernel of the fruit is posionous and as such responsible planting requires awareness of the and its potential risk to children and animals.

A robust and upright tree crowned with a dense, bushy canopy of large, lustrous green leaves. Spring brings delicate cream-green flowers, followed by the allure of fragrant, fleshy ornamental orange fruit in summer. This evergreen creates a magnificent coastal hedge or a captivating specimen in frost-free environments. Exact indigenous distribution uncertain due to its widespread historic planting by Maori. Most botanists accept it as native only to the northern half of the North Island. Karaka holds significant cultural and historical value for Māori and Moriori, but it is also viewed as an environmental weed outside its natural range due to its capacity to outcompete resident native vegetation and disrupt local ecosystems.