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Kōrero: Rural language

Tutu berries

Image
Tutu berries

Tutu (Coriaria arborea) berries are extremely toxic if eaten by stock. The prevalence of tutu poisoning in settler days led to the verb ‘to tutu’ and the adjective ‘tutu’d’. The plant’s name is often shortened to ‘toot’.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Natural Sciences Image Library of New Zealand

Reference: Di0506Smt.jpg

by Peter E. Smith

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Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Dianne Bardsley, Rural language – Farming difficulties, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/18603/tutu-berries (accessed 25 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Dianne Bardsley, i tāngia i te 1 March 2009.