''Aristotelia serrata'', commonly known as wineberry or in the

Māori language Māori (), or ('the Māori language'), also known as ('the language'), is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. Closely related to Cook Islands Māori, Tuamotuan, and ...

makomako or just mako, is a small tree in the family

Elaeocarpaceae Elaeaocarpaceae is a family of flowering plants. The family contains approximately 615 species of trees and shrubs in 12 genera."Elaeocarpaceae" In: Klaus Kubitzki (ed.). ''The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants'' vol. VI. Springer-Verlag: Be ...

, in the genus '' Aristotelia'', found in the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

and

Stewart Island Stewart Island ( mi, Rakiura, ' glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across the Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a total land ar ...

of New Zealand.

Description

''Aristotelia serrata,'' also known as wineberry, is a small

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

fast-growing tree or shrub. The tree can reach up to 10m tall, with a trunk diameter up to 30 cm. The bark is pale brown, smooth and patterned with flat lenticels.Dawson, J., & Lucas, R. (2012). New Zealand's native trees. Nelson: Craig Potton publishing. Branches are long, slender and spreading, branchlets have a reddish-brown color when pubescent.Eagle, A. (2006a): Eagle’s Complete Trees and Shrubs of New Zealand. Te Papa Press, Wellington

Leaves

''Aristotelia serrata'' leaves have distinguishable traits. Leaves are thin, deeply and sharply serrated, light or dark green on adaxial surface, often pinkish green on abaxial surface, veins distinct on both surfaces, size between 5-12 x 4–8 cm. The leaves, are disposed in opposite or subopposite pairs. They have drawn-out, pointed tips and prominent veins forming an obvious net-like vein pattern on both sides. The margins are strikingly toothed, with larger, narrowly pointed, irregular, jagged teeth bearing smaller teeth. Some trees have red-purple twigs and leaf undersides; others are just green. The leaves have long stalks, and each leaf stalk has a pair of small, narrow

stipules In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole). Stipules are considered part of the anatomy of the leaf of a typical flowering plant, although in many speci ...

, sometimes a few teeth, at its base. In the axils of the leafstalks are pointed buds, which can grow out into leafy shots or inflorescences.

Flowers

Aristotelia serrata (Wineberry) inflorescence and leaves

Flowers occur in an

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

of numerous cymes, flowers of all shades intermixed, coloured in cream through pink to dark red. Flowers has 4 to 6 mm diam; petals 3-lobed; stigma with 3-4 lobes; stamens numerous, arising from a glandular disc. Flower has 6–10 cm long, on slender pubescent pedicels with around 5-10mm long. Flowers have 4 ovate sepals around 3 mm long; 4 petals, 3-lobed, often deeply, 9mm long. Stamens occur on glandular disk, minutely pubescent. Ovary 3-4 celled, styles 3-4.Allan,H.H. (1961). Flora of New Zealand. Vol. 1. Wellington, Government Printer. 1085 p The flowers are very numerous, in much-branched clusters. They have petals with rounded, incised lobes at the ends and look like small versions of ''Elaeocarpus'' flowers. They are almost colourless when they open; then they change to pink, red, and dark red, providing a colorful display. Wineberry has male and female flowers on different plants, with some bisexual flowers among the males. Female flowers are borne in large panicles, on short shoots just above leaves or old leaf scars, on 2 year old wood of the upper leafy branchlets.Burrows, C.J. (1995b). Germination behaviour of the seeds of the New Zealand species Aristotelia serrata, Coprosma robusta, Cordyline australis, Myrtus obcordata and Schefflera digitata. New Zealand Journal of Botany33: 257-64

Fruits

The fruit is a berry that is 4-5mm in diameter, black, containing 8 angular seeds. With 4

locule A locule (plural locules) or loculus (plural loculi) (meaning "little place" in Latin) is a small cavity or compartment within an organ or part of an organism (animal, plant, or fungus). In angiosperms (flowering plants), the term ''locule'' usu ...

s and axile placentation. They are red through dark red to almost black.

Distribution

New Zealand range

Endemic to New Zealand, wineberry is found throughout the South Island of New Zealand and lower North Island. It is common in moist forest and scrub land within the lowland, montane, and subalpine climates.Poole, Lindsay, and Nancy Adams. “Dicotyledones.” Trees and Shrubs of New Zealand. Wellington: DSIR, 1990. 84-85. Print. Wineberry can also be found on

.Dawson, John, Rob Lucas, Jane Conner, and P. J. Brownsey. “Aristotelia Alaeocarpaceae.” New Zealand's Native Trees. Nelson, NZ: Craig Potton, 2011. 144-46. Print.

Habitat preferences

Taking advantage of ecological disturbances such as natural tree falls ''A. serrata'' is plentiful in regenerating forest and damp river margins. Forest clearings which are followed by the colonization of wineberry are often due to land slip, storm damage, natural tree fall, forest clearings, and forest fire.

Life cycle/Phenology

Wineberry is a quick growing deciduous tree. Gradually losing leaves during the winter it may become fully bare prior to new leaves and flower development in spring. Wineberry is an attractive tree, with pinkish foliage and rose coloured flowers in the spring. Berries ripen in the summer. As the flowers of the Wineberry mature they turn from white to red, there are both female and male flowers on different plants with some bisexual flowers among the males.

Predators, parasites, and diseases

Wineberry acts as a host to numerous associated plant species and is fed on by native birds and insects. Associated plants include a range of mosses to herbaceous plants such as '' Orthotrichum cyathiforme'', '' Orthotrichum calvum'', '' Macroacoma tenue'', '' Leptophyllopsis laxa'', and '' Lleostylus micranthus''. The berries of ''A. serrata'' are susceptible to

frugivory A frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts and seeds. Approximately 20% of mammalian herbivores eat fruit. Frugivores are highly dependent on the abundance an ...

by both birds and mammals. Kererū are known to feed on the fruit of wineberry. In order to conserve kererū populations it is suggested by the

Department of Conservation An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...

that wineberry be planted as a food source.“New Zealand Pigeon/ Kererū/kūkū/kūkupa.” New Zealand Wood Pigeon/kereru/kuku/kukupa: New Zealand Native Land Birds. Department of Conservation, 06 Nov. 2006. Web. 028 Mar. 2015

The berries of the wineberry are not the only parts eaten: Cleora scriptaria, kawakawa looper (''Cleora scriptaria'') larvae can be found feeding on its leaves.

Cultural uses

''Aristotelia serrata'' has a multitude of uses by both

European settlers European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

and

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

. Māori used makomako medicinally by boiling its leaves as an application to burns and infected wounds. The berries serve as food and are often eaten by children, and can be squeezed to make a thick sweet drink. Wineberry can be used in a variety of way to create dyes: the plant contains

tannins Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' (from Anglo-Norman ''tanner'', f ...

, and the bark can provide a blue-black dye. European settlers burnt the shoots of the wineberry, changing the wood to charcoal for the production of gunpowder.

Interesting facts

Ecology

Often form thickets after felling of forest.

Nomenclature

''Aristotelia'' means after

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

, the Greek philosopher.

Systematic botany

There may exist two varieties for the same species, one with light green leaves and bright red fruits, and the other with dark green leaves, purplish below and dark fruits.

References

External links

Map showing citizen scientist observations from NaturewatchNZ
{{Taxonbar, from=Q151178 serrata Trees of New Zealand Endemic flora of New Zealand Edible fruits New Zealand fruit