Gunnera manicata
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Gunnera manicata, known as Brazilian giant-rhubarb[1] or giant rhubarb,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Gunneraceae from the coastal Serra do Mar Mountains of Santa Catarina, Parana and Rio Grande do Sul States, Brazil.[3][4] In cultivation, the name G. manicata has regularly been wrongly applied to the hybrid with G. tinctoria, G. × cryptica.[5]
Description
Gunnera manicata is a large, clump-forming herbaceous perennial growing to Script error: No such module "convert". tall by Script error: No such module "convert". or more in width. The leaves of G. manicata grow to an impressive size. Leaves with diameters well in excess of Script error: No such module "convert". are commonplace, with a spread of Script error: No such module "convert". on a mature plant. The largest on record had leaves up to Template:Cvt in width.[6] It is the largest of all the Gunnera species, but not the tallest (see Gunnera masafuerae). The underside of the leaf and the whole stalk have spikes on them. In early summer it bears tiny red-green, dimerous flowers in conical branched panicles, followed by small, spherical fruit. Like most gunneras, it has a symbiotic relationship with certain blue-green algae which provide nitrogen by fixation.
Despite the common name "giant rhubarb" it is not closely related to true rhubarb. It was named after the Norwegian bishop and naturalist Johan Ernst Gunnerus, who also named and published a description about the basking shark.[7]
Distribution
Gunnera manicata is native to the Serra do Mar mountains of coastal Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul states, Brazil, where it is used in traditional medicine for sexually transmitted diseases.[8]
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Gunnera manicata in the jungle garden in France[9]
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Gunnera × cryptica, jardin jungle
![Gunnera manicata in the jungle garden in France[9]](/wiki143/index.php?title=File:Gunnera_manicata_%27Aparados_da_serra%27_BBM20.BR2261,_jardin_jungle_karlostachys.jpg){kind=link}
Cultivation
Giant rhubarb came to be widely cultivated in the United Kingdom and Ireland as an ornamental garden plant. It was primarily grown for its massive leaves.[4] It grows best in damp conditions such as near garden ponds, but dislikes winter cold and wet.[10]
However, in 2022, the Royal Horticultural Society found that these plants were actually Gunnera × cryptica, a hybrid of G. manicata with highly invasive Gunnera tinctoria.[5]
In December 2023, the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs banned Gunnera × cryptica: it cannot be sold or cultivated, and those who have it in their gardens must ensure it does not spread.[11][12]
References
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- ↑ Template:BSBI 2007
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- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ The Garden Volume 63 issue 1831 (February 21, 1903) page 125
- ↑ Froese, R., and D. Pauly. Editors. (2023). FishBase. Cetorhinus maximus (Gunnerus, 1765). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=105837 on 2023-05-11
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External links
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- Gunnera manicata