Lophozonia menziesii < Species index > Lycopodium volubile
This article was first published in the Tararua Tramper Volume 96, # 6, July 2024
July in the hills with Michele Dickson, Chris Horne
Luzuriaga parviflora, nohi, pūwatawata, Lantern berry
Photo: Jeremy Rolfe
Origin of the botanical names
Luzuriaga is named after the Spanish botanist, a writer of medical papers, Don Ignatio Maria Ruiz de Luzuriaga (1763-1822); parviflora derives from the Latin words 'parvus' for small or puny, and ‘flores’ for flower, referring to the small flowers. The Luzuriaga genus belongs to the family Alstroemeriaceae - of which there is one indigenous and six exotic members in Aotearoa, the rest being found in Central and South America.
Distribution and habitat
Lantern berry / nohi is indigenous to Aotearoa. It grows on shady, mossy forest floors, slightly up the base of trees and over roots at altitudes depending on latitude, from mountains on the Coromandel peninsula on Te Ika-a-Maui / North Island to Te Waipounamu / South Island and Rakiura / Stewart Island.
Growth habit
Lantern berry / nohi is a semi-herbaceous perennial with wiry four-angled stems up to 50 cm long, creeping at the base. From the stems shorter, aerial branching twigs arise, up to 25 cm long. The glossy leaves are oblong with a very short point, 7–27 × 3–6(10) mm, alternate except for the uppermost last two leaves which appear opposite. The very short petioles / leaf stalks are twisted so that often the underside of the leaf shows. The leaf veins are parallel, either side of a prominent midrib, with transverse veins often visible. The leaf margins are smooth.
Reproduction
Dainty, little white, nodding flowers dangle down from December to March. The flowers are solitary and terminal, arising from between the uppermost leaves. Each has six segments, together somewhat resembling a lantern, and slightly smaller than the leaves in size. The flower stalks are 3-5 mm long. The fruit is a white, fleshy, spongy berry, ca. 1 cm in diameter, sub-globose with a very short point at the tip. The seeds are 2.5 × 2 mm, pale and very hard. Fruiting occurs during most of the year.
Uses
We don’t know of any uses of lantern berry / nohi, or if the berries are edible.
Where can you find lantern berry / nohi?
Look for it at altitudes of about 550 - 800 m in the Remutaka, Akatarawa and Tararua ranges.
In The Hills 2024-06 < Index chronological > In The Hills 2024-08