poroporo

Solanum laciniatum (bullibulli, known as kangaroo apple in Australia)

Native shrub

Solanum laciniatum or Solanum aviculare

Poroporo is a shining, soft-wooded, openly branched tree with purplish stems and leaf veins that grows to around 3 metres high. It is fairly common in scrub and lowland forest margins from near Auckland throughout the country to near Dunedin. The flowers are dark blue-purple and appear from September to April.

The poisonous green or yellow berries should not be eaten, although when orange and fully ripe they are scarcely toxic when fresh, and not at all when cooked. The two species of poroporo are very similar and are only easily distinguished by the flowers. For practical purposes the two species can be regarded as one.

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