carpets of shade suppressed seedlings grow. Cultivation Karaka may be easily grown from fresh seed, but cuttings are very difficult to strike. Young plants are frost-tender and sensitive to cold. The tree often naturalises in suitable habitats. It is common in cultivation and widely available for sale both in New Zealand and in suitable climates elsewhere. It was one of the most grown food crops by pre-European Māori (alongside kūmara (sweet potato) and aruhe (bracken fern root), who ate the drupe and seed after a long detoxification process. Every autumn (March to May), pre-European Māori would collect the seeds dropped from the coastal karaka trees. The seeds would be placed in open-weave kete, washed in rivers to remove the outer pulp, afterwards baked and sun dried, a process that would remove toxicity from the seeds. Properly prepared karaka kernels would keep for 2–3 years. Toxicity and uses The pulp of ripe fruit is edible, sweet and aromatic, but the fresh kernels contain the toxic alkaloid karakin. Accounts from the 19th century record that extensive processing was used by Māori to convert the kernels to an edible form, and mention that if the processing was not done with the greatest care, poisoning would result with symptoms including violent convulsions and severe muscle spasms which could leave the limbs permanently fixed in contorted positions. Death resulted in a few cases. The berries are toxic if ingested by dogs and may result in death. There is also evidence from beekeepers that the flowers may be narcotic or toxic to bees, causing bee loss and resulting in lower honey production. Culture On the Chatham Islands this tree (locally known as kopi) has played a distinguished role in the history of Moriori people: the soft bark of these trees has been used for making dendroglyphs. A report in 2000 noted the existence of 147 kopi trees with dendroglyphs, though some may not have been authentically Moriori. References External links Karaka leaves used for scientific research Corynocarpaceae Trees of New Zealand Ornamental trees Plants described in 1776