A New Zealander has paid $NZ1,000 ($A784) for a piece of fruit shaped like the country's national bird.
It sounds like patriotism gone mad, but New Zealanders scrambled to bid on the piece of fruit, called a feijoa, because of its striking resemblance to their shy kiwi bird.
The usually oval-shaped fruit is in abundance in New Zealand at present, fetching just $NZ4.98 ($A3.91) a kilogram in supermarkets and dropping freely in people's gardens.
An Auckland woman spotted one under her tree on Anzac Day that looked very much like the long-beaked bird.
She listed it on New Zealand's online selling website Trade Me, only to see bids climb from $NZ12.50 ($A9.80) to $NZ1,000 ($A784) in a few days.
Her listing describes the fruit as "the ultimate in traditional, natural and non-manufactured Kiwiana".
"This exceptional and unusual wee feijoa is perfection personified shaped as our own dear little kiwi icon," she wrote.
The fruit, which is now turning brown on its underside, was bought for $NZ1,000 by well-known Christchurch mortgage broker Mike Pero, who used it to garner some quick publicity.
"We took it a step further when we realised that $NZ1,000 was too much to pay one person for a piece of fruit," Pero said in a statement.
"We thought we'd aim to get a second bite out of the feijoa by making our purchase price conditional on a $NZ500 ($A392) donation to The Child Cancer Foundation."
The auction closed on Sunday night with 5,000 hits, 362 watchers and 12 bids.
Pero plans to preserve the feijoa.
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