The shiny lettuce green leaves of Hangehange are a common sight in New Zealand forests and bush fragments. These soft fleshy leaves can be distinguished from other plants by a distinctive “drip tip”, an elongated point at the end of the leaf that allows rain to run off.
Hangehange leaves were used as a flavouring in Māori cuisine. The roots of kumara and cabbage tree were wrapped in Hangehange leaves and cooked in a hāngī; the leaves imparting a distinctive flavour to the meal. The bark also has a number of uses. It could be beaten to a pulp to produce a black dye, and a lotion made from the sap was used to treat children’s sores and itchy skin.
Want to learn more?
New Zealand Plant Conservation Network
T.E.R.R.A.I.N
Ngā tipu whakaornga: Māori Plant Use Database
The Meaning of Trees 
In late September at Tuateawa on N.E. Coromandel, we found a flowering hangehange plant the size of a tall shrub. Its tiny green flowers, oozing nectar, give off a unique fragrance reminiscent of maple syrup and pine or some sort of medicine.
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Love the description Catherine! They are great little plants, and I agree the flowers have an very intriguing smell.
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