Tag Archives: edible

Te Radar’s vegetable with charisma

22 June 2012 – 9.13am

Which vegetables do you think have charisma? 

In Tuesday night’s television programme Radar Across The Pacific, comedian Te Radar was given “fiddle fern” to eat.  He seemed to be impressed by it, describing it as having charisma.

TV One’s Radar Across The Pacific.

Te Radar was eating the young, unfurling fronds of a fern.  These still-coiled fronds are variously called croziers or fiddleheads or, in New Zealand, koru.  Fern fiddleheads are a common vegetable in some parts of the world.

Ota dina, Diplazium dietrichianum (or D. esculentum), Fiji. Photo Leon Perrie. © Te Papa.

I couldn’t tell for sure but there’s a good chance that the fern Te Radar was eating was Diplazium dietrichianum, ota dina (or Diplazium esculentum).  The similar Diplazium ecsculentum is commonly eaten in Asia.  The second part of its scientific name, “esculentum“, means edible.  The related Diplazium proliferum, ota lalabe, is also eaten in Fiji and elsewhere.

During our 2011 field work in Fiji, we saw Diplazium fiddleheads being harvested for sale at the Suva market.

Blog post about our 2011 fern collecting in Fiji.

Ota lalabe, Diplazium proliferum, Fiji. Photo Leon Perrie. © Te Papa.

A New Zealand equivalent comes from the hen & chickens fern (manamana or mouku, Asplenium bulbiferum).  Its fiddleheads are known as pikopiko.  The popularity of pikopiko as a vegetable seems to be reviving, and it is commercially available.

Pikopiko, or the young, uncurling frond (koru) of hen & chickens fern (Asplenium bulbiferum, manamana, mouku), Wellington, New Zealand. Photo Leon Perrie. © Te Papa.

More on hen and chickens ferns from Te Papa’s Collections Online.

By Leon Perrie | Posted in Biodiversity, Ferns, Plants | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (1)

Bush City’s residents

14 April 2011 – 6.06pm

Mamaku, Cyathea medullaris, in Te Papa's Bush City. Photo Leon Perrie, (c) Te Papa.

Want to know more about the plants in Bush City?

Bush City is Te Papa’s only living, outdoor exhibition.

Information about some of the plants in Bush City is now available from Te Papa’s Collections Online.

Let me know if you are interested in a plant in Bush City that is not included in the initial set of twelve. This will help me prioritise additional species to write about.

You can find more details on the uses of the featured plants in the cited references.  In particular, the book by Andrew Crowe, A Field Guide to the Native Edible Plants of New Zealand, should be available from public libraries (and bookstores).

By Leon Perrie | Posted in Biodiversity, Exhibitions, Plants | Also tagged , , , | Comments (5)

Delight and Disaster in the Rubbish Heap

24 March 2011 – 3.29pm

I’m always keen to add to the number of plants I can recognise. Weeds are a profitable group in that respect.

One of the species of poroporo, Solanum aviculare. Photo © Leon Perrie.

Recently my wife pointed out an interesting looking organic rubbish heap on the grounds of Massey University that was home to an odd-looking Solanum. Imagine my delight when, on closer inspection, I found it to be not a weedy exotic but a real indigenous treasure: Solanum aviculare.

Solanum aviculare is one of two similar species known as poroporo. The other is Solanum laciniatum, which is very common and widespread through New Zealand. Solanum aviculare, on the other hand, is on the Threatened Plants lists as “At Risk/Declining”. I have never knowingly seen it before, so I was very excited!

Handily, at this rubbish heap the two species of poroporo were growing together, facilitating easy comparison. Although their leaves were strikingly different here, the best way to distinguish them is by their flowers: the petals of S. aviculare are less fused and more deeply cut than those of S. laciniatum.

The two poroporo side-by-side. Solanum laciniatum is on the left, Solanum aviculare on the right. Photo © Leon Perrie.

Flowers of the two poroporo. Solanum laciniatum is on the left, Solanum aviculare on the right. Photos © Leon Perrie.

The DISASTER comes because a week after taking these pictures, this rubbish heap was “cleaned up” – an unfortunate demise for this rarity! Hopefully we can find more S. aviculare locally.

Unripe fruit of poroporo, Solanum laciniatum. Photo © Leon Perrie.

Both poroporo species have similar fruit, which can be eaten when they are ripe (when orange, with bursting skin). However, they’re poisonous when green and unripe, so be wary! They belong to the same genus as tomatoes, potatoes, and black nightshade, and the same family as deadly nightshade. It’s a minefield of nutrition and toxicity.

Interestingly, both Solanum aviculare and S. laciniatum occur in Australia, where they are known as kangaroo apple.

By Leon Perrie | Posted in Plants | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (5)
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