Medicinal Uses

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Fruit | Edible Uses: CoffeeFruit - raw or cooked. Sweet, but with little flavour[225]. The orange-red fleshy fruit is about 7mm in diameter, though forms with fruits up to 13mm have been seen[225]. The roasted seed is an excellent coffee substitute[153].

Cultivation

Requires a moist, very well-drained neutral to slightly acid soil in full sun or light shade[200]. Prefers a permanent moist and peaty soil, but it is not an easy plant to grow in Britain[225]. Somewhat intolerant of frost, this species is only likely to succeed outdoors in the milder areas of Britain[200]. Another report says that it is fully hardy in Britain[225]. Closely related to C. atropurpurea and often confused with that species[225]. It is a very variable plant, hybridizing freely with other members of this genus[200, 225]. Plants are normally dioecious, though in some species the plants produce a few flowers of the opposite sex before the main flowering and a few hermaphrodite flowers are sometimes produced[225]. Male and female plants must usually be grown if seed is required. There is some confusion over the correct name of this species, it could be a part of C. petriei[200].

Known Hazards

None known

Habitats

Higher montane to sub-alpine grassland, North, South and Stewart Islands[44].