Gunnera tinctoria

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Gunnera tinctoria
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Gunnerales
Family: Gunneraceae
Genus: Gunnera
Species:
G. tinctoria
Binomial name
Gunnera tinctoria
Synonyms[1]

Gunnera scabra Ruiz & Pav.
Panke tinctoria Molina

Gunnera tinctoria, known as giant rhubarb,

Pav.

Taxonomy

It was first described in 1782 by Juan Ignacio Molina as Panke tinctoria,[1][3] and was transferred to the genus, Gunnera, in 1805 by Charles-François Brisseau de Mirbel.[4][5]

Description

Gunnera tinctoria is a giant, clump-forming herbaceous perennial. The leaves can grow up to 2.5 m across, cordate and palmate with up to 9-lobed margins.[6] The stems are covered in numerous spikes. It has erect spikes of cone-shaped inflorescences (to 1 m) from spring to early summer, with small flowers. The fruit is orange. The number of seeds is estimated from 80,000 per seedhead to 250,000 per plant.

Gunnera tinctoria flowering on the coast of Chiloé Island, Chile

Habitat

Stream and roadsides.[6]

Uses

In its native Chile, where it is called nalca or pangue, it is used in a similar way to European rhubarb: after peeling, the stalks are eaten fresh or cooked into jam or cordial.[7] The leaves are used in the preparation of the traditional Chilean dish curanto.

As an invasive species

In parts of New Zealand, Chilean rhubarb has become a recognised pest plant; in

Taranaki, on the western coast of North Island, it has spread to riparian zones and riverbeds, coastal cliffs and forest margins,[8] thus placing the species on the National Pest Plant Accord. Under Section 52 and 53 of the Biosecurity Act, it is an offence in New Zealand to knowingly propagate, distribute, spread, sell or otherwise offer for possession.[9] In Great Britain, the species was popular amongst gardeners for decades, but became rather well-established, and sometimes problematic, in western districts, and appeared to be spreading.[10] In the west of Ireland, G. tinctoria is a major invasive species,[11] in particular on Achill Island and on the Corraun Peninsula, County Mayo
. Its large leaves create dense shade, preventing other species from germinating or growing.

Chilean rhubarb is classified in the European Union as an invasive species of Union concern, and it is illegal to import, grow, or sell it within the EU.[12]

In the United Kingdom, the plant was classified under Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 as an invasive species. While it remained legal to cultivate privately, it was made illegal to allow the species to spread outside the bounds of one's property, or to deliberately sow it elsewhere.[13]

Chilean rhubarb on sale at a street in Puerto Varas.
MHNT

Similar species

A similar species is Gunnera manicata (Brazilian giant rhubarb). This species may also be invasive.

In popular culture

In October 2019, photos of a produce vendor in

2019–20 Chilean protests, Nalcaman has since become an element of the iconography surrounding Chile's anti-government protests.[15]

In Chiloé Island, Chile

Notes

  • The blue-green alga Nostoc is a symbiont in Gunnera.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b "Gunnera tinctoria (Molina) Mirb. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
  2. ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  3. ^ Molina, G.I (1782), Saggio sulla Storia Naturale del Chili del Signor Abate Giovanni Ignazio Molina, Bologna, p. 143
  4. ^ "Vascular Plants: Gunneria tinctoria". biodiversity.org.au. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
  5. ^ Mirbel, C.F.B. de (1805), Histoire Naturelle, Générale et Particulaire, des Plantes Edn. 2, 10: 141  
  6. ^
    ISBN 978-185918-4783
  7. ^ "Nalca". TasteAtlas. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  8. ^ Giant problems for Taranaki Archived 2007-10-19 at the Wayback Machine; especially the pictures of Gunnera tinctoria on seacliffs (p. 17)
  9. ^ Department of Conservation 2005, p. 3
  10. ^ Anon. "Giant Rhubarb, Gunnera tinctoria". NNSS species information. GB Non-native species secretariat. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  11. ^
    ISBN 978-1-904890-31-7
  12. ^ Anon. "List of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern". European Commission. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  13. ^ "Gunnera Removal | Environet". Japanese Knotweed and Invasive Plant Specialists | Environet UK. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  14. 24horas.cl
    , Santiago, 4 October 2019. Retrieved on 10 February 2020.
  15. ^ The Clinic. "Fotos épicas: Todos los superhéroes que han aparecido en las protestas en Chile" The Clinic, Santiago, 6 November 2019. Retrieved on 10 February 2020.

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gunnera tinctoria.
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