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Kawakawa leaves are about 5–10 cm long by 6–12 cm wide; they are opposite to each other, broadly rounded with a short drawn-out tip and are heart-shaped at their bases. The leaves are deep green in colour if growing in the forest, but may be yellowish-green in more open situations.
326:
The flowers are produced on greenish, erect spikes 2.5–7.5 cm long. Kawakawa flowers are quite minute and very closely placed around the spike. After pollination the flowers gradually swell and become fleshy to form small, berry-like fruits that are yellow to bright orange.
367:. An infusion made from the leaves or roots was used or its leaves were chewed to relieve toothache, and wounds were often bound in kawakawa leaves. The sweet edible yellow berries (most often found in summer on female trees) of the plant were eaten as a
439:, in memory of the kava plants they undoubtedly brought with them and unsuccessfully attempted to cultivate. The Māori word kawa also means "ceremonial protocol", recalling the stylised consumption of the drug typical of Polynesian societies."
434:
properties. It is most likely not a coincidence that this plant has a similar name to kawakawa. One source stated: "In New
Zealand, where the climate is too cold for kava, the Māori gave the name kawa-kawa to another Piperaceae,
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It has also been surmised that when Māori first came to New
Zealand, they named the plant 'Kawakawa' because they recognised that the plant was a close relative of
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Early
European settlers to New Zealand used kawakawa in teas, and experimented using it as a flavouring agent in beer. It is commonly grown as an
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species also occur in tropical
Polynesia, it is more likely they simply applied the name of those plants to the New Zealand variety. In the
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Kava is a traditional plant and beverage of the South
Pacific. The roots of the plant are used to produce a drink with medicinal,
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1161:
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1279:
335:
Each berry cluster is the size of a small finger. Ripening period is
January and February. These fruits are favoured by
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is very similar in appearance to the New
Zealand species, and is also used in traditional medicine in the Cook Islands.
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415:). While the two plants look similar and have similar names, they are different, albeit related, species.
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371:. Traditionally, leaves with holes that had been eaten by caterpillars were considered the best to use.
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Kava: The
Pacific Elixir: The Definitive Guide to Its Ethnobotany, History, and Chemistry
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382:, both hosts and guests may wear wreaths of kawakawa on the head as a sign of mourning.
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666:, Ngā Tipu Whakaoranga - Māori Plant Use Database, Landcareresearch.co.nz
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Kawakawa is sometimes called "Māori kava" and is often confused with the
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The leaves are often covered with holes caused by the caterpillar of the
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Kawakawa, In: The
Encyclopedia of Alternative & Natural Medicine
606:"Piper excelsum G.Forst. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science"
763:
Lebot, Vincent; Merlin, Mark; Lindstrom, Lamont (1 February 1997).
577:
is known as 'Kavakava-atua'; in Samoa it is called 'Ava'ava-aitu'.
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646:. New York & London: Univ. Columbia Press. p. 409.
685:. Auckland: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. pp. 24–27.
455:, where it refers to the bitter taste of the leaves, from
220:) of the pepper family (Piperaceae) and commonly known as
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823:
378:wave leaves of kawakawa to welcome guests. At a
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531:Domesticated plants and animals of Austronesia
305:which has larger and more glossy leaves than
8:
389:in gardens. Kawakawa essential oil contains
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290:. The tree grows to 20 feet (6.1 m).
224:, is a small tree of which the subspecies
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27:
1300:Plants used in traditional Māori medicine
742:New Zealand Plant Conservation Network:
19:Not to be confused with the kawakawa or
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374:In cultural contexts, host people of a
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397:when consumed in high concentrations.
629:Forster, G. (1786) Fl. Ins. Austr.: 5
7:
1190:d3257002-1309-4c55-9e41-028bfa32157e
1009:2bb1e6e9-8ec8-4984-8fc9-33d2cfe779de
769:. Inner Traditions / Bear & Co.
758:
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286:(43.5 °S) on the east coast of the
14:
301:). The images depict the variety
270:Kawakawa is found throughout the
1216:urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:677740-1
1035:urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:681346-1
793:
508:
496:
487:
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49:
657:"Macropiper excelsum. Kawakawa"
642:Carlquist, Dr. Sherwin (1974).
1:
349:Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae
730:"Tangihanga – death customs"
1320:Taxa named by Georg Forster
361:traditional medicinal plant
1336:
610:Plants of the World Online
503:leaves and fruiting spikes
18:
1305:Flora of Lord Howe Island
341:Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae
184:
177:
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46:Scientific classification
44:
35:
30:
1315:Plants described in 1786
681:Vennell, Robert (2019).
557:is made in the tropical
1270:Magnoliids of Australia
1265:Flora of Norfolk Island
553:, the plant from which
359:Kawakawa was used as a
339:or New Zealand pigeon (
561:. However, given that
401:Relationship with kava
274:, and as far south as
1280:Trees of New Zealand
802:at Wikimedia Commons
683:The Meaning of Trees
295:kawakawa looper moth
197:Methysticum excelsum
1073:Macropiper excelsum
218:Macropiper excelsum
216:(formerly known as
187:Macropiper excelsum
1285:Trees of Australia
662:2016-08-11 at the
278:(43.20 °S) on the
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1198:Open Tree of Life
1017:Open Tree of Life
817:Taxon identifiers
798:Media related to
692:978-1-77554-130-1
551:Piper methysticum
412:Piper methysticum
299:Cleora scriptaria
240:; the subspecies
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613:. Retrieved
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575:P.latifolium
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567:Cook Islands
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272:North Island
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1149:iNaturalist
942:iNaturalist
849:Wikispecies
615:26 November
459:or bitter.
443:Common name
437:P. excelsum
432:entheogenic
307:P. excelsum
266:Description
247:psittacorum
238:New Zealand
226:P. excelsum
200:(G.Forst.)
190:(G.Forst.)
89:Angiosperms
1259:Categories
717:Q118646408
709:1088638115
701:2019403535
589:References
428:euphoriant
424:anesthetic
391:myristicin
280:West Coast
122:Piperaceae
102:Magnoliids
973:161483118
840:Q21306444
571:Marquesas
447:The name
395:deliriant
140:Species:
112:Piperales
59:Kingdom:
31:Kawakawa
1229:25000001
1224:Tropicos
1167:677740-1
1088:Q6725539
1082:Wikidata
1048:50218074
1043:Tropicos
994:NSWFlora
960:681346-1
834:Wikidata
748:excelsum
732:, Te Ara
713:Wikidata
660:Archived
569:and the
525:See also
449:kawakawa
420:sedative
369:diuretic
258:and the
230:excelsum
222:kawakawa
179:Synonyms
171:G.Forst.
118:Family:
1141:7305062
1022:1091996
934:4183998
746:subsp.
559:Pacific
463:Gallery
409:plant (
363:of the
331:Berries
322:Flowers
276:Ōkārito
245:subsp.
234:endemic
228:subsp.
202:A.Lyons
128:Genus:
108:Order:
63:Plantae
1290:Spices
1203:383267
1187:NZOR:
1180:130373
1154:414830
1115:620289
1006:NZOR:
986:286065
947:404899
882:664471
773:
715:
707:
699:
689:
519:119988
430:, and
343:) and
337:kererū
313:Leaves
282:, and
1128:72S9K
1102:58265
916:FoAO2
908:PIPEX
895:4J42C
869:80642
563:Piper
537:Notes
380:tangi
376:marae
365:Māori
303:majus
243:P. e.
133:Piper
96:Clade
83:Clade
70:Clade
1211:POWO
1175:NCBI
1162:IPNI
1136:GBIF
1110:BOLD
1097:APNI
1030:POWO
981:NCBI
968:IUCN
955:IPNI
929:GBIF
903:EPPO
877:BOLD
864:APNI
771:ISBN
705:OCLC
697:LCCN
687:ISBN
617:2019
555:kava
457:kawa
407:kava
393:, a
355:Uses
192:Miq.
1237:WFO
1123:CoL
1056:WFO
890:CoL
515:AM
351:).
345:tūī
236:to
232:is
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347:(
297:(
23:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.