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Story: Te ngahere – forest lore

Tutu

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Tutu

All parts of the tutu plant are poisonous except for the petals. Māori crushed and strained the purple petals through toetoe grass, using the juice to sweeten aruhe (fern root).

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by Jeremy Rolfe

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How to cite this page

Rāwiri Taonui, Te ngahere – forest lore – Fruiting trees, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/14118/tutu (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Rāwiri Taonui, published 2 March 2009.