Requires a perfectly drained gritty soil in full sun. Easily grown in a moist but well-drained soil in full sun. Hardy to about -10°c according to one report whilst another says it is hardy to about -15°c. Dioecious but female plants have occasional male flowers. Male and female plants must normally be grown if seed is required. The flowers are sweetly scented.

Root - cooked. Aromatic. A very good taste. The resin is used as a chewing gum. Shoots and young stems. No further details.

Seed - best sown in a greenhouse as soon as it is ripe. Stored seed should be sown in a greenhouse in late winter or early spring. Germination can be very slow. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter before planting them out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.

Found from sea-level to montane areas in North and South Islands to latitude 41° 30' south.