Coprosma quadrifida

Botanical Name: Coprosma quadrifida
Common Name: Native currant
Family:  Rubiaceae
Size: 2-4m H x 1.5-3m W

Leaves: Shiny olive green.  Small, crowded, oval usually (4-10mm L x 2.5 mm W).
Flowers: Cream/white, 4 petals, solitary, terminal.  Flowers unisexual with female and male flowers found on separate plants.
Flowering Time: Spring
Fruit:  Orange to red drupe, shiny, almost translucent (7 mm L x 5 mm W), edible. Fruit abundant late summer to autumn.

Habitat/distribution: An erect often intricate thorny shrub.  Branches are slender often tapering to a spine at the point.  Widespread, grows in moist sites in sclerophyll forest and cool temperate rainforest. Also Qld, ACT, but more common in Tas., Vic. and NSW.
Where to See: Widespread and very common in wet forest and damp sites along creeks, sea level to 500 m.
Other notes: Fruit sweet and juicy, can be eaten raw or cooked.  In early days of Tasmanian settlement, fruit was used to make puddings. The tiny spines provide protection for small birds.  Also known as Prickly currant bush.