WorldFloraDB - Acaena novae-zelandiae

Characteristics

Plants creeping or stoloniferous. Stems to 15 dm, 1.5–2 mm diam.; branches erect, ?short?, leafy. Leaves: stipules 3–5-fid; petiole 0.3–1 cm; blade 2–11 cm, leaflets 4–7 per side, bright shining green, oblong or elliptic, 4–17 mm, margins crenate-dentate, teeth 8–15, ?smooth adaxially?, abaxial surface glaucescent, usually pilose on veins and margins, adaxial sparsely pilose. Scapes axillary, 10–15 cm, 1–2 mm diam., ?smooth?, lacking both cauline leaves and multicelled hairs. Inflorescences 80–100-flowered, globose heads (9 mm diam. in flower, 20–35 mm diam. in fruit); bracteoles linear, pilose. Flowers 3.5 mm diam.; sepals 4, triangular, 1.5 mm, abaxially pilose, adaxially glabrous; stamens 2(or 3), filaments 1.5–2 mm, anthers white; stigma white, fimbriate. Fruiting hypanthia obtriangular, 3.5–5 mm diam., surfaces sericeous, 4-angled, each angle with a slender spine at apex, ?red, sometimes lemon yellow?, 7–12 mm, spines with 4–10 translucent, retrorse barbs 0.5 mm at apex, ?surfaces glabrous?. 2n = 42 (New Zealand).

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Stoloniferous perennial; prostrate stems 1.5-2 mm diam., < 1.5 m long; erect stems 1-2 mm diam., < 15 cm long or longer when scrambling on supporting vegetation. Lvs 2-11 cm long; stipules entire to 5-fid; leaflets 9-15, oblong, 4-17 × 2-10 mm, 8-15-toothed, bright, shining green (rachis often red) and glabrous or sparsely hairy on upper surface, glaucescent and sparsely or densely hairy on veins and margins on lower surface; teeth appearing crenate because of recurved margins. Scape 10-15 cm long, pilose; capitulum c. 9 mm diam. at flowering, < 3.5 cm diam. (including spines) at fruiting; florets c. 80-100-(120); sepals 4; stamens usually 2, rarely 3; anthers white; style 1, white; achene 1. Fr. obconic, c. 4 × 1.7 mm, hairy; spines 4, red, 7.5-12 mm long, barbed, occasionally with stunted subsidiary spines on side of fr.

Main stems stout, woody, creeping and rooting, up to 1m. long; branches ascending, stout, c. 5-10 cm. long, pilose. Lvs 5-10 cm. or more long, petioles silky-pilose, lflts 11-15. Stipules obliquely lanceolate, c. 6-8 mm. long, 3-4-fid. Upper lflts 12-15 mm. long, elliptic to obovate-oblong, subsessile, subserrate-crenate, vivid dark green and glab. above, pale below and pilose on veins; terminal lflt on petiolule c. 3 mm. long. Scapes c. 10 cm. long, stout, with or without one or more pairs of bracts. Heads, including spines, c. 3·5 cm. diam. sts smaller; bractlets linear, c. 4 mm. long. Cupules obconic, tetragonous, pilose, c. 3-4 mm. long. Spines c. 1 cm. long, occ. shorter, dark purple. Sepals lanceolate to broad-lanceolate, ± pilose below. Stamens 2, anthers white, stigma plumose.

Life form

perennial

Growth form

herb

Growth support

climber free-standing

Foliage retention

evergreen

Sexuality

hermaphrodite

Pollination

anemogamy

Spread

-

Mature width (meter)

-

Mature height (meter)

0.1 - 0.13

Root system

creeping-root

Rooting depth (meter)

-

Root diameter (meter)

-

Flower color

Blooming months

Jan	Feb	Mar
Apr	May	Jun
Jul	Aug	Sep
Oct	Nov	Dec

Fruit color

-

Fruiting months

-

Nitrogen fixer

-

Photosynthetic pathway

c3

Environment

Open positions from lowland to the montane zone in North, South and Stewart Islands of New Zealand.

Light	-
Soil humidity	-
Soil texture	-
Soil acidity	-
Soil nutriment	-
Hardiness (USDA)

Usage

Uses	gene source medicinal
Edible	leaves
Therapeutic use	-
Human toxicity	-
Animal toxicity	-

Cultivation

Can be grown by cuttings or seedlings.

Mode	cuttings seedlings
Germination duration (days)	30 - 100
Germination temperacture (C°)	14 - 18
Germination luminosity	-
Germination treatment	-
Minimum temperature (C°)	-
Optimum temperature (C°)	-
Size	-
Vigor	-
Productivity	-