Acaenia anserinifolia
| Acaenia anserinifolia | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 6 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Evergreen | |
| Height: | 0.3' |
| Width: | 3' |
| Speed: | Fast |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Mid Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
Acaenia anserinifolia (common name: pirri-pirri bur)
Propagation: Seed - sow March in a greenhouse. Germination, which can be very poor, usually takes place within 1 - 3 months at 10°c[1]. When the seedlings are large enough to handle, prick them out into individual pots, planting them out in the summer.
Division in April or October. Very easy, the plants can be divided at any time of the year if required, though it will need to be done in a greenhouse during the winter months.
Cuttings - August in a cold frame.
Cultivation: An easily grown plant, it succeeds in ordinary well-drained soil in sun or semi-shade[1][2]. Requires a warm position[3]. Adaptable to poorly-drained soils in Australia[4].
A very invasive plant, spreading freely by its procumbent rooting stems[K]. It is low-growing, however, and so can be grown as a ground cover amongst taller plants[K].
Range: Eastern Australia, New Zealand. Naturalized in Britain[5].
Habitat: Open positions from lowland to the montane zone in North, South and Stewart Islands of New Zealand[6].
Edibility: The leaves are used as a substitute for tea[7][8][9][10].
Medicinal: The leaves are antiphlogistic, carminative, diuretic and vulnerary[11].
Usage: A good ground-cover plant, tolerating some treading[2]. A carpeting plant, rooting as it spreads[3].
Pollinators: Wind
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Wind: Tolerates maritime wind exposure
In Leaf: Evergreen
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: A. novae-zelandiae. A. sanguisorbae.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Rice, Graham. Growing from Seed Volume 1. Thompson and Morgan, 1987.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Thomas, Graham. Plants for Ground Cover. Everyman, 1990.
- ↑ Wrigley, John and Murray Fagg. Australian Native Plants. Collins, 1988.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ Allan, Harry. Flora of New Zealand. Government Printer Publications, 1961.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Cribb, Alan and Joan Cribb. Wild Food in Australia. Fontana, 1976.
- ↑ Crowe, Andrew. Native Edible Plants of New Zealand. Hodder and Stoughton, 1990.
- ↑ Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.