Story: Rural language

Tutu berries

Tutu berries

Tutu (Coriaria arborea) berries are extremely toxic if eaten by stock. The prevalence of tutu poisoning in settler days led to the verb ‘to tutu’ and the adjective ‘tutu’d’. The plant’s name is often shortened to ‘toot’.

Using this item

Natural Sciences Image Library of New Zealand
Reference: Di0506Smt.jpg
Photograph by Peter E. Smith

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page:

Dianne Bardsley, 'Rural language - Farming difficulties', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/18603/tutu-berries (accessed 30 March 2024)

Story by Dianne Bardsley, published 24 Nov 2008