pōporo
1. poroporo, Solanum aviculare and Solanum laciniatum - native shrubs to 3 m tall with dark, soft, lance-shaped or lobed, alternating leaves. Flowers are white to blue-purple and the fruit yellow to orange. Most common along the edges of forest and in scrub. The fruit is poisonous until fully ripe. .
Ko tēnei mea ko te hōuto, he hua pōporo, he mea āta kimi ki ngā mea papai, pai o te maoa, o te āhua hoki; ka huihui aua hua pōporo, ka herea ki tētehi pito o te tumu, kia haere atu ai te tūī ki te kai i aua hua (JPS 1895:139). / The hōuto is the poroporo fruit very carefully selected for the best ones, quite ripe and of a perfect shape; that poroporo fruit is gathered and tied to an end of the bird snare to attract the tūī.
See also poroporo
Synonyms: kohoho, tūpurupuru, peoi
2. (noun) breadfruit tree, breadfruit, Artocarpus altilis - a large, evergreen, tropical tree with large, round, starchy fruit originating in the South Pacific and was spread to the rest of Oceania. It has been an important staple crop in the Pacific for more than 3,000 years, but does not grow in the colder climate of Aotearoa/New Zealand.
Ka kite i te pōporo whakamarumaru o Uenuku, ka kainga e rāua (M 2004:28). / When they saw Uenuku's shady breadfruit tree, they ate them.
See also pōporohua
