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Vitex lucens. Pūriri.

Name document
Chemistry
Construction
Domestic
Dyes
Food
Medicinal

Click to collapse Māori names Info

PŪRIRIkauere (Williams 1971); kanieri (? Taylor) 

Click to collapse Food Info

Nicholas (1817) ate berries of a tree, whose description fits the pūriri, which he found "very bitter and disagreeable." Considered poisonous by Māori he was with (p.217)

Click to collapse Dyes Info

Heartwood, when treated with alkaline solutions produces a brilliant yellow dye (Kelly 1866).

Bark gives a brown dye, converted into a good yellow by mixing with dye from tānekaha ( Bretts Guide 1883 ; White, quoted in Aston 1918b, from ms. in Dominion Museum)

Dyeing properties investigated by Perkin 1898. Pure yellow tones obtained (See Aston 1918b)

Click to collapse Domestic Info

Among Ngāpuhi, wedges made from pūriri for tree felling ( Best 1925).

Wallace 1989 found a bowl, 4 fernroot beaters, a maul, 4 paddles, an adze helve and socket, a spade blade, a kō and 2 hoto made from pūriri among museum artefacts he tested.

Click to collapse Construction Info

Timber tree. Ship's knees, piles, fencing (Colenso 1868a) (N.B. Details on colonial timber uses generally not recorded in this database).

"the New Zealand teak; the most durable of all the timber trees in this country."(Taylor 1870)

Especially suitable for making a stockade- durable, has very little sapwood, not so readily destroyed by fire as tōtara. Difficult to work. (Best 1927).

Click to collapse Medicinal Info

Infusion of leaves used for ulcers, especially under the ears, "keeping a rag constantly wet with the infusion." (O'Carroll 1884).

Severe inflammation caused by splinters in hands and feet (Baber, quoted in Aston 1923b). Leaves - boiled, bath sprains and backache (Adams 1945).

Related pharmacology in Brooker, Cambie and Cooper 1987.

See Riley 1994 for information on medicinal uses of related plants elsewhere in the world.

Click to collapse Chemistry Info

Chemical compounds listd in Cambie 1976, 1988 with references.

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Click to collapse Metadata Info

1aaa3c96-8bb1-454d-8498-d3396e0a1b30
name
28 May 2007
4 August 2021
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