Kiekie is one of the common plants found in native bush across New Zealand and a taonga species. Here are 5 facts about this endemic vine.
The native podocarp/broadleaf forest of New Zealand appears to be a tangled mass of green, which it is. But, the closer you look the more you will begin to learn to identify the myriad of trees, shrubs, vines, and epiphytes. That bit of knowledge will help untangle the mess and reveal the marvels of this beautiful bush. Kiekie is one of the plants that I often saw on my wanders, but it took me several years to know it’s name and appreciate it. Here are some facts about this treasured plant.
5 Kiekie Facts – A Tasty & Useful Plant
Kiekie (Freycinetia banksii) is a common vine that is found across New Zealand’s broadleaf/podocarp forest. It can be found growing throughout the lowland forests of the North Island and along the top of the South Island, down to the Clarence River on the east coast and all the way down to Milford Sound on the west coast.
This is a many branched woody vine that has little clumps of long, straight leaves. The leaves are green or yellow/green in colour and give the bush a tropical feel. This plant can climb along tall trees in the forest, such as rimu, or it may form a dense mat of vegetation in the undergrowth. When it grows along the ground it can be practically impossible to penetrate (as I’ve learned when trapping or once when searching for a kiwi burrow that was under it).
This is a taonga species for Maori because they had many uses for this plant, from food to weaving. Both the large flower bracts and the fruit can be eaten (thus it provided a harvest twice a year – flowering in August to November and fruiting in January to May). This plant produces a white flower bract that is sweet and tasty. Maori liked them so much that there were strict rules around the harvesting of them, to protect ancestral claims to a crop and protect them from rats.
Unfortunately, this plant has fallen victim to the same introduced mammals (rats and possums) that have decimated many native species in the country. Rats and possums enjoy eating the flowers and fruit and thus it can be very difficult to find in the wild. However, in areas with adequate predator control in place, the flowers and fruit can be seen.
Maori used the leaves of this plant to weave into various items. The most important plant for weaving was probably harakeke and this may be one of the next most useful ones. The straight leaves were stripped, boiled in water, and dried in the sun. Then they could be dyed and woven into a number of different things, such as clothing, kites, mats, belts, baskets, and hats.