Corynocarpus laevigatus
Poisonous plant
Common names
karaka, kopi
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Large tree about as wide as tall with many thick dark green glossy leaves and large oval orange fruit. Bark dark, with dark spots on trunk. Leaves 10-20cm long, paler underneath. Fruit to 4cm long, oval, in dense sprays, flesh thin.
Flower colours
Cream, Green
Detailed description
Leafy canopy tree up 15 m tall. Trunk stout up to 1 m diam., Bark grey. Branches stout, erect to spreading. Petioles 10-15 mm long. Leaves dark green above paler beneath, thick, leathery, (50-)100-150(-200) x (30-)50-70 mm, glossy, elliptic to obovate-oblong, margins recurved. Inflorescence a stout, erect panicle up to 200 mm long, peduncles and pedicels short, somewhat fleshy, pale green. Flowers 4-5 mm diam., greenish-cream to off-white or pale yellow. Sepals suborbicular, petals 5, obovate-spathulate, alternating with 5 subpetaloid staminodes. Fruit an ellipsoid to ovoid drupe 25-40(-46) mm long, flesh pale yellow to orange. Endocarp a fibrous reticulum surrounding a smoother, harder papery layer beneath. This structure enclosing a single seed (kernel).
Similar taxa
Karaka is a very distinctive tree unlikely to be confused with any other indigenous, naturalised or planted exotic tree. The simply, leathery, dark green leaves and large orange drupes with their fibrous endocarp serve to immediately distinguish it. Some Botanic Gardens hold specimens of the other 4 species of the genus, vegetatively these look similar to karaka but their fruits are very different in colour, shape and size.
Distribution
Endemic. Exact indigenous distribution uncertain due to its widespread historic planting by Maori. Common from Raoul and the Three Kings Islands, throughout the North and South Islands to Banks Peninsula and Okarito. Also on the Chatham Islands. Most botanists accept it as native only to the northern half of the North Island. It is widely naturalised in lowland forests, from gardens and ‘conservation plantings’ well south of its presumed natural range. Seedlings can form dense carpets to the exclusion of other native regeneration (Costal et al. 2006). It is probably naturalised from deliberate Polynesian plantings on Raoul and the Chatham Islands.
Habitat
Common in mainly coastal situations, often a major component of coastal forest, rarely dominant. Occasionally found inland, and then often in association with Maori cultural deposits.
Current conservation status
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2023 | Not Threatened
Threats
Abundant and not threatened. Often naturalising in suitable habitats.
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Synonyms
None
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
August - November
Fruiting
January - April
Life cycle and dispersal
Fleshy drupes are dispersed by frugivory (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Easily grown from fresh seed. Cuttings are very difficult to strike. Frost-tender and cold-sensitive when young.
Wetland plant indicator status rating
Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland). If you have suggestions for the Wetland Indicator Status Rating, please contact: [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]
FACU: Facultative Upland
Occasionally is a hydrophyte but usually occurs in uplands (non-wetlands).
Other information
Poisonous plant
The fleshy outer part of the fruit can be eaten but the kernel in which the seed occur is poisonous (a neurotoxin known as karakin) unless detoxified through cooking. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting and seizures. There may also be the onset of muscular spasms after several weeks. Click on this link for more information about Poisonous native plants.
Cultivation
Common in cultivation and widely sold both in New Zealand and around the world. A serious pest in the Hawaiian Islands. Because the fresh kernels of the species contain a lethal neurotoxin Karakin, and so the species has been banned from some amenity plantings and day care and kindergartens. The toxin, an alkaloid breaks down with exposure to UV light.
Cultural use/importance
Karaka (or kopi) holds significant cultural and historical value for Māori and Moriori, but it is also viewed as an environmental weed outside its natural range due to its capacity to outcompete resident native vegetation and disrupt local ecosystems. For a detaile discussion see McAlpine et al. (2024) Karaka (Corynocarpus laevigatus): native taonga (treasure) or environmental weed? New Zealand Journal of Botany, 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/0028825X.2024.2388751.
Etymology
corynocarpus: From the Greek koryne ‘club’ and –carpus ‘fruit’
laevigatus: Smooth
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
CORLAE
Chromosome number
2n = 44
Previous conservation statuses
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2017 | Not Threatened
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Regional conservation statuses
Auckland: 2025 | Regionally Not Threatened | Qualifiers: DPS, DPT
The regional threat classification system leverages off the national assessments in the NZTCS, providing information relevant for the regional context. Auckland conservation status information is sourced from the “Conservation status of vascular plant species in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland” Simpkins E et al. (2025) report.
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Allan, H.H. 1961: Flora of New Zealand. Vol. 1. Wellington, Government Printer.
J.A. Costall , R.J. Carter , Y. Shimada , D. Anthony & G. L. Rapson (2006). The endemic tree Corynocarpus laevigatus (karaka) as a weedy invader in forest remnants of southern North Island, New Zealand, New Zealand Journal of Botany, 44:1, 5-22, DOI:10.1080/0028825X.2006.9513002
Attribution
Fact Sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange (1 September 2004). Description based on Allan (1961).
Some of this factsheet information is derived from Flora of New Zealand Online and is used under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand licence.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Corynocarpus laevigatus Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/corynocarpus-laevigatus/ (Date website was queried)