Melicytus ramiflorus

Melicytus ramiflorus, commonly known as māhoe, hinahina, and whiteywood, is a species of shrub or small tree in the family Violaceae. This species is characterised by its flowers and purple fruits, which grow directly from woody stems, a trait known as ramiflory. A distinguishing feature of this plant is the skeletonised leaves on the leaf litter, where the leaves retain their veins even after the rest of the tissue has decayed. There are two recognised subspecies of this plant: M. ramiflorus subsp. ramiflorus is endemic to New Zealand, and subsp. oblongifolius is endemic to Norfolk Island. The plant was first described by the German naturalists Georg and Johann Reinhold Forster in 1776. M. ramiflorus is pollinated by insects, and its seeds are later dispersed by fruit-eating animals (frugivores), such as birds and lizards. M. ramiflorus had some traditional and medicinal uses for the indigenous Māori people. M. ramiflorus has been suspected to contain toxins that are poisonous to cat......read more on Wikipedia.