Pseudowintera colorata, horopito or pepper tree is endemic to the North, South and Stewart Islands, where it is found in coastal, lowland, or montane forest margins and shrubland from sea-level to 1200m asl. It is an erect upright, much-branched. A shrub up to 3.5m tall, it has is one of New Zealand’s most distinctive and easily recognised shrubs due to its colourful, often mottled or speckled with red, pale yellow-green leaves that are a pale bluish-white underneath. It has yellow flowers from September to March followed by dark fleshy fruits from March -April. It prefers a good soil and although it can tolerate quite dry conditions it does appreciate watering during dry spells. Grow in sun or semi shade.  Its peppery tasting leaves are now often used for culinary purposes, and a can be found as an ingredient in a number of food products. The leaves of the pepper tree were often used by Maori women when weaning a child, and the crushed leaves were rubbed on their breasts to give them a bitter taste. The sap was also used to cure skin diseases.