Learning something new every day

I went for a walk this evening even though I went to dance practice in the morning which fulfilled my exercise obligation.  I went the "unoffical" way through to Broken Hill Rd and on into Spicer Park for a bit.  Felt good - the peace and quiet seems to help keep me sane. Here's a picture from the area that I took last month.  I had no idea what this plant was, I had never noticed it before - but that's probably because I never used to go out walking in this area.  So I asked Brenda, and she said "I'm pretty sure it's Poroporo.  According to my copy of 'The Reed Field Guide to NZ Native Trees', the name covers two species: Solanum aviculare and S. laciniatum.  S. laciniatum has purplish stems and grows as far south as Dunedin while S. aviculare has greenish stems and only gets as far south as Banks Peninsula.  They are both found in scrub and along coastal and lowland forest margins.  They can get up to 3-4m high.""  So here you are, here's a fine example of a Poroporo.  Thanks to Google I now know it is both edible and poisonous.  It's included on an indigenous menu at Praxis Cafe in Auckland - but according to the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture the leaves and green berries are poisonous so don't eat it unless you know what you're doing.  I guess the fruit have to be ripe before they are cooked.