Over the easter weekend I had lots of time to go foraging.
The most surprising find for me was the banana passionfruit which is both loved and hated by Kiwis (The people, not the fruit – sorry to add to the confusion)
Despite the equivocal name, the inside of this fruit clearly links it to the passionfruit we spread across our pavlovas. They are from the same genus, Passiflora, which means that to be any more closely related, the two plants would need to be capable of interbreeding.
I took a pretty permissive stance to Blackberry, but this plant is a real terror. So much so that it is illegal to sell or distribute the fruit, or even grow a plant in your backyard. The favoured habitat of this vine is on the margins of healthy native forest, where it smothers those trees and causes their death.
Since you aren’t allowed to grow or buy this one. Foraging is you only option, but it seems not to be in short supply. I have added my discovery to the New Zealand Food and Fruit Share Map so you can find it too!
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If you are lucky enough to find some, be aware of what you do with the seeds – they are highly viable
