poroporon.
/ˈpɒrəʊpɒrəʊ/, U.S. /ˈpɔroʊˌpɔroʊ/, New Zealand English /ˈporoporo/, /ˈpɒrʌupɒrʌu/ Chiefly New Zealand.
Either of two shrubs native to New Zealand and Australia, Solanum aviculare and S. laciniatum (family Solanaceae), bearing lavender or purple-blue flowers followed by edible orange berries. Cf. gunyang n., kangaroo-apple n. at kangaroo n. Compounds 2.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular fruit-tree or -plant > [noun] > tropical or exotic fruit-tree or -plant > of Australia
kangaroo-apple1834
poroporo1840
gouty-stem1846
nonda1847
gunyang1867
Adansonia1988
1840 E. J. Wakefield Diary (typescript) (Alexander Turnbull Libr., Wellington, N.Z.) Bura bura..beads of berries.
1843 J. K. E. Dieffenbach Trav. N.Z. II. 380 Poraporo—berry, fruit.
1853 J. D. Hooker Bot. Antarctic Voy.: Flora Novæ-Zelandiæ I. 182 Solanum aviculare..Nat. name, ‘Poroporo’ in the northern, and ‘Kohoho’ in the southern parts of the Islands.
1872 A. Domett Ranolf & Amohia xviii. vi. 312 Potato-apples of the poroporo tall.
1882 W. D. Hay Brighter Britain! II. 152 Among indigenous vegetable productions came..the berries of poroporo..and other trees.
1921 H. Guthrie-Smith Tutira xxii. 216 At other times of the year kowhai and hill-flax..will provide nectar,..poroporo..and other native plants, seeds and berries.
1970 M. E. Fisher et al. Gardening with N.Z. Plants 112 The poroporo is a leafy shrub.
1996 Nature 7 Nov. 27/2 In an attempt to clarify the situation, King and Buchmann have turned to a New Zealand nightshade, the poroporo (Solanum laciniatum), and have examined..the role of accelerating frequency in stimulating pollen shedding.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2006; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1840