Kawakawa

This morning, I was gifted a kawakawa. They don't grow down here of their own accord, though there are some in the greenhouses of Maori who hail from the north and wish to have this rongoa on hand for all sorts of maladies. The very kind woman who brought me this plant said she believed my forest garden would be perfect for kawakawa to grow out of doors and perhaps multiply. Indoor specimens have pale leaves, where those growing in the shade of te ngahere are dark. I've planted mine in the dappled shade alongside of the path that leads down to the spring. It looks right at home. Kawakawa have male and female forms, so I'll have to get another before there can be fruits. This one hasn't the distinctive holes chewed in its leaves yet. There's a loopy caterpillar that does that job and that treatment seems to do little harm to the health of the plant.
It's exciting to get gifts like this, especially those that improve the longer you keep them and are otherwise difficult to obtain.
Kiaora, Marama.