Hot Stuff

I've been busy re-lining the living room again today, so I'm back to a quick emergency blip from the garden for today's entry.

This horopito tree is over in our little bit of 'Tiger Country' - a patch of bush at the back of the garden that nestles into the hill behind us. The bush is a bit of a jungle, and we've got a few noxious weeds to knock out of there to get it a little bit more pristine. There's some lovely stuff in there though, with mature podocarps and broadleaves fighting for elbow room.

Horopito are pepper trees and have been used by Maori for centuries as a cure for many an ailment. Its leaves and young bark have an astringent, peppery quality and were used extensively to combat stomach aches, giving it the nickname "Maori Painkiller".