This shrubby relative of the violet is full of bi-coloured berries in the Terrace Garden.
Belonging to the viola family (Violaceae) the genus Melicytus contains seven species of Australasian shrubs, and is closely related to the more familiar shrubby Hymenanthera. All members of the genus have alternate leaves and male and female flowers with five spreading petals, usually borne on separate plants. Synonymous with Melicytus flexuosus, M. angustifolius is a tangled, sparsely leaved shrub, producing sweetly scented, cream-yellow flowers and white and purple fruits. This species has the common names of narrow-leaved Melicytus, and violet tree. It occurs in southern Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand, where it grows widely on South Island, but is limited to the Waione and Pureora-Taihape regions of the North Island. M. angustifolius grows on fertile alluvial terraces and flood plains, in forest margins and scrub. It is widespread on the .