Blueberries, kiwiberries, boysenberries, loganberries... well, there might soon be another one to add to the mix – the snowberry.
Photo: Louise Leclerc / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Plant and Food Research is running a trial to see if there is potential to establish a new commercial berry crop in New Zealand.
The two-year project, in conjunction with Ngai Tahu, will look at whether there is promise for the snowberry.
There are at least 15 types of snowberry in New Zealand.
They grow mainly in sub-alpine areas and are a favourite with sheep and goats. Trampers who know about them eat them by the handful.
Photo: Dr Bruce Smallfield, Plant & Food Research
The small berry is red, pink or white and is reported to have a delicate flavour a little like lychees.
One Queenstown restaurant is already using snowberries to decorate desserts.
Dr Jill Stanley, who is based at Plant and Food Research's Clyde orchard, says the trial will investigate where snowberries grow best, how they respond to pruning and training, whether they are capable of producing good yields and at the nutritional properties of the berries.
“It is exciting. It might be the new super-berry," she says.
