Melicytus ramiflorus

Melicytus ramiflorus, commonly known as māhoe, is a small tree of the family Violaceae. It is endemic to New Zealand. It grows up to 10 metres high with a trunk up to 60 cm in diameter, it has smooth, light bark and brittle twigs. The dark-green "alternate" leaves are 5–15 cm long and 3–5 cm wide and their edges are finely serrated (although this feature is less pronounced in younger plants). The plants are dioecious and the small flowers are yellowish in colouration, between 3 and 4 mm in diameter and occur in fascicles, growing straight out from naked twigs- these flowers have a strong, pleasant fragrance. The berries are a striking violet colour when ripe and are more or less spherical with a diameter of between 3 and 4 mm. Flowering occurs in late spring and on into summer while the berries appear later on in summer and also in autumn. The berries of M. ramiflorus are eaten by a number of native birds, including the kererū and the tūī, while geckos of the genus Naultinus have also ......read more on Wikipedia.