Pseudowintera colorata, also known as mountain horopito or pepperwood, is a species of woody evergreen flowering trees and shrubs, part of family Winteraceae.

Pseudowintera colorata, or mountain horopito, is an evergreen shrub or small tree (1–2.5 m) commonly called pepperwood because its leaves have a hot taste.

It is so named because early taxonomists recognized the similarity between horopito and the South American Drimys winteri that provided the herbal remedy "winter's bark."

They are both members of the family Winteraceae, which are mainly found on the landmasses that once made up the great southern continent of Gondwana – South America, Australia, New Zealand and New Guinea.

"[9] A French nun, Mother Aubert, went to live among the Māori at the end of the 19th century, and the native plant remedies she later created became commercially available and widely used throughout the colony of New Zealand.

In a letter to the French Consul dated 2 December 1890, she described it as "superior to Quinquina [quinine] in the treatment of chronic stomach sickness.

[11] An ex vivo study used a horopito and aniseed mixture (Kolorex) to inhibit the growth of C. albicans in the oral cavity.

[12] Another study concluded that a mixture of horopito (containing polygonal) and aniseed (containing anethole) protects the gut of mice from colonization and dissemination of Candida albicans.