Summary ²

Flowering: October - December
Falkland Islands status: native, not legally protected
Falkland Islands Red List: Least Concern

Description ²

This is one of the smallest members of the Gunnera family, being a miniature version of much larger species such as the Brazilian Gunnera manicata with its huge rhubarb-shaped leaves up to 2 m long and 3 m wide. Male and female flowers are on separate plants; the former are sparsely spaced along the length of the stem of tall red spikes while the latter are deep pink rounded clusters near the base of the plant. The bright red fruit are grouped in conspicuous clusters amongst the wrinkled shiny green leaves.

Local Information ²

The species is widely distributed across the Falklands in most habitats from sea level to mountaintops. On Hummock Island it is found in damp areas in diddle-dee heath. Unlike all other Falklands berries, pigvine berries are poisonous.

Notes ³

Gunnera magellanica is a perennial rhizomatous dioeceous herb native to Chile, Argentina and the Falkland Islands, and Andean areas of Peru, Ecuador. In the southern part of its range it grows in damper parts of the Magellanic Forests, and shrub formations on Tierra del Fuego, with an altitudinal range from sea level to 1500m.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Kelvin Floyd, all rights reserved, uploaded by Kelvin Floyd
2. (c) Kelvin Floyd, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
3. Adapted by Sally Poncet from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunnera_magellanica

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Catalogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia
• eFloras.org
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• World Flora Online

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