Coprosma propinqua
Taxonomy and growth
Uses
Edible uses
Fruit - raw or cooked[3]. Sweet, but with little flavour[5]. The pale to deep violet-blue fruit is about 8mm wide[4][5]. The roasted seed is an excellent coffee substitute[2].
- Product or use
- Coffee
- Plant part
- Fruit
Material uses
Tolerant of pruning, it makes a good dense hedging plant[5]. A yellow dye is obtained from the wood, it does not require a mordant[2].
- Product or use
- Dye
Ecology and functions
Environment
- Range
- New Zealand.
- Light
- full sun
- Shade tolerance
- light shade
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- Zone 7+
- Soil textures
- sandy, loamy
- Soil pH
- acid, neutral
- Drainage
- well drained
- Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
- No
- Drought
- intolerant
Propagation
Seed - probably best sown as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse or cold frame[K]. Sow stored seed in spring in a cold frame[4]. Germination can be slow, often taking more than 12 months even when fresh seed is used[K]. When the seedlings are large enough to handle, prick them out into individual pots. Grow on the plants for at least their first winter in a greenhouse and plant out in late spring or early summer. Give the plants some protection from the cold for their first winter outdoors[K]. Cuttings of mature wood of the current year's growth, autumn in a frame.
Cultivation
Requires a moist, very well-drained neutral to slightly acid soil in full sun or light shade[4]. An easily grown plant, it succeeds in most soils[5]. Somewhat intolerant of frost, this species is only likely to succeed outdoors in the milder areas of Britain[1][4]. Another report says that it is fully hardy in Britain[5]. It flowers freely in Britain, fruiting heavily if pollinated[5]. A polymorphic species, it hybridizes freely with other members of this genus[4][5]. Plants are tolerant of heavy clipping or pruning[5]. 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[5]. Male and female plants must usually be grown if seed is required.
References
Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981-00-00
Brooker. S. G., Cambie. R. C. and Cooper. R. C. Economic Native Plants of New Zealand. Oxford University Press 1991-00-00 ISBN 0-19-558229-2
Crowe. A. Native Edible Plants of New Zealand. Hodder and Stoughton 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-340-508302
Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Knees. S. The New Plantsman. Volume 2, 1995. Royal Horticultural Society 1995-00-00 ISBN 1352-4186