The Meaning
Titoki is an attractive New Zealand native tree reaching 10-15 metres tall with a trunk up to 60 centimeters in diameter and a slightly roughened bark that is nearly black. The compound leaves may be 10-40 centimeters long, each with four to six pairs of leaflets, which may be 5-10 centimeters long by 2-5 centimeters wide.
Tiny flowers are born in panicles, where as the fruit is enclosed in a brown, furry capsule on a red fleshy base. When ripe in spring, the capsule splits open to reveal the hard black, lustrous seed. The seed is produced in early summer and is classed as recalcitrant. With its gracefully shaped leaves and attractive form it makes the perfect ornamental tree.
Legend tells us that the magical people of Maori folklore, the Patupaiarehe, warmed themselves and toasted friendships with a drink distilled from the berries of the Titoki tree. The potion, it was said, captured the intensity and glow of Aotearoa’s hidden fires. In the early 1970s an Auckland wine-maker decided to create a uniquely New Zealand liqueur which reflected the pungent, aromatic smells of the New Zealand native bush.