74
MAY 2019
TRACK CHAT
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native plants?
As a kid I was fascinated by survival
stories – I loved reading anything
about people lost in the wilderness. I
wanted to know how you could use
native plants for survival and which
ones were edible and which were
poisonous. Later, I made myself a
goal of eating my way through the
New Zealand forest. I got a copy of
Andrew Crowe’s Field Guide to the
Native Edible Plants of New Zealand
and used it as a checklist. I still
have the same copy, battered and
smudged with plenty of scribbles in
the margins about tasting notes and
additional things I’ve tried.:KDWPDGH\RXIRFXVRQWKH
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Ever since I started this journey
of eating native plants and writing
about them, I became fascinated
with all the different ways we rely
on plants. Without plants, human life
as we know it could not exist. They
produce the air we breathe, the food
we eat and the raw materials for our
housing, clothes and tools – and yet
they don’t often feature as big char-
acters in our history books. I wantedto bring the role plants have played
to the forefront and show that from
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in Aotearoa, plants have been shaping
the story of New Zealand.:KDWDUHVRPHRI\RXUIDYRXULWH
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Mountain horopito leaves are a
great way to quickly spice up your
tramping meals. I use them in hot
chocolate, or you could grind them
up and add them to your dehydrated
meals. It’s good to use them sparingly
though as they can be really spicy. I
also love experimenting with differ-
ent bush teas.
My favourite is a blend of kawa-
kawa and kanuka leaves. Take a
handful of both and leave on the boil
for a few minutes.'R\RXKDYHDQ\SODQWKDFNVIRU
trampers?
Harakeke is easily one of our most
useful and practical plants. The
leaves are incredibly strong and
durable and can be used for any-
thing you would use rope for. If your
boots fall apart, you can weave
makeshift shoes out of the leaves. In
former times, MƗori would traversethe Southern Alps wearing woven
sandals of harakeke. As well as the
leaves, the nectar produced by the
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gum found at the base of the leaves
is edible and can be rubbed inside
your socks to help prevent blisters.
Another good plant to know about is
rangiora – the bushman’s friend. The
large papery leaves can be used as
toilet paper if you get caught short.
It’s good to be on the lookout for it
ahead of time though, as it always
seems to be mysteriously absent
when you need it most.$UHWKHUHDQ\QDWLYHSODQWVSHRSOH
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Ongaonga is a powerful stinging
nettle that is responsible for at least
one death in modern times. Tutu is
one of our most poisonous plants,
and there have been a number of
deaths from eating the berries which
contain a powerful neurotoxin. Kara-
ka berries contain a kernel which is
full of a toxic alkaloid which could
leave you permanently paralysed.+RZXQLTXHLV1HZ=HDODQGèVćRUD"
It is incredibly unique – around 80
per cent of our plant species are
endemic. They share some strange
features which mark them out from
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example, we have an unusually high
number of divaricating plants –
shrubby plants where the branches
grow in a wiry tangle. We don’t
know for sure why – it may have
evolved as an adaptation to protect
leaves from harsh weather condi-
tions, or to protect them from the
prying beaks of moa.
Many of our plants are just plain
weird. We have the tallest moss
in the world which grows around
60cm tall and looks like a tiny pine
tree. And perhaps strangest of all we
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the underworld. This parasitic plant
spends its life underground stealing
sugar and nutrients from the roots
of other plants. When it is ready to
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the ground and are pollinated by
short-tailed bats.Unearthing the roots
of New Zealand flora
Author Robert Vennell blends history and science in his
book 7KH0HDQLQJRI7UHHV%\0DWWKHZ&DWWLQRobert
Vennell’s
fascination
for edible
plants grew
from a
childhood
love of
survival
stories