A Kawerau researcher, Graeme Weavers, has been given a $23,752 fellowship to research genetic diversity and population dynamics of the poroporo plant.
A distant relative of the tomato, the plant is a native of New Zealand which produces small golden fruit that were used by early European settlers
to make jam.
Known scientifically as Solanum aviculare, it also grows in Australia and New Guinea, and the fruit is widely used in Europe and Asia in treating rheumatoid arthritis, skin disorders and as a hormonal contraceptive - in line with traditional Maori use.
"It appears to be in decline here in New Zealand, especially in the North Island, so I'm looking at the reasons why," said Mr Weavers.
He hopes to encourage the use of poroporo in plantings where native vegetation is being restored.
"Making poroporo more available may help in restoring its use as a rongoa, or traditional herbal remedy," he said.
The Foundation for Research, Science and Technology fellowship, to help fund his two-year masters thesis, is one of Te Tipu Putaiao grants to improve scientific knowledge and enhance Maori involvement in scientific study.
"I got interested in poroporo when I was given a specimen by an ecologist," said Weavers, who started out as a horticulturalist.
"An old kaumatua recognised the plant and said he hadn't seen it around since he was a kid. Then I spotted quantities of it growing on a landslip in the Tarawera Forest Reserve."
Poroporo thrives on disturbed ground, but land clearances, pest grazing and increasing urbanisation had made it harder to find, he said.
In some regions the 2m shrub is found only in managed areas and reserves.
Mr Weavers said he was looking at the gene flows between different populations of poroporo in the Waikato, the Bay of Plenty and the South Island, how the seed spreads, and collecting growth data.
"If we can restore poroporo populations on the scrubby open areas it likes, then the opportunity is there to use it locally for pharmaceutical purposes," he said.
- NZPA
