pirinoa
1. (modifier) parasitic.
He kino te mahi a ētahi huakita pirinoa. Arā he mate ka hua mai i te whakaputanga tāoke a te huakita (RP 2009:204). / The effects of some parasitic bacteria are harmful. That is, illness results from bacteria that become toxic.
Synonyms: parakūkā
2. (noun) parasite.
Ko tētahi o ō rāua uri ko Pepetuna, arā, he pirinoa ka kai i te pūriri (Te Ara 2015). / One of their descendants was Pepetuna, the pūriri moth, a parasite that eats the pūriri tree.
Synonyms: parakūkā
3. (noun) yellow mistletoe, Alepis flavida - a hemiparasitic shrub with thick bright green to yellow-green leaves. Flowers yellow and fruit oval and yellow. Found mainly on tāwhai species.
See also pirita
4. (noun) green mistletoe, Ileostylus micranthus - a hemiparasitic shrub with thick leaves of various shapes. Flowers greenish yellow and fruit pale yellow. Found on a range of hosts throughout Aotearoa/New Zealand.
See also pirita
6. (noun) white mistletoe, Tupeia antarctica - a hemiparasitic shrub with broad to narrow leaves. Flowers yellow or yellow-green and fruit white to pink, often speckled darker pink. Found particularly on tarata, maire raunui and whauwhaupaku.
See also tāpia
