Medicinal Uses

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Fruit | Edible Uses: CoffeeFruit - raw or cooked. Sweet, but little flavour[225]. The orange-red fruits are about 8mm in diameter[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]. Succeeds in most soils, so long as they are well-drained[225]. Somewhat intolerant of frost, this species is only likely to succeed outdoors in the milder areas of Britain[200]. Plants are proving to be hardy in an Essex garden[225]. Hybridizes 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.

Known Hazards

None known

Habitats

Montane to lower sub-alpine forest, shrubland and grassland, from latitude 41° south and southwards on South Island[44].