Common Name:

General Information

Gunnera perpensa is a perennial herb up to 1 metre tall, growing from a more or less elongated, usually creeping rhizome that is up to 3 cm[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and a medicine[]. A popular medicine in S. Africa, where the plant is predominantly collected from the wild and is sold in markets, pharmacies and supermarkets with a high market value[]. The plant also has potential for use in soil stabilization and restoration projects[].
The population of Gunnera perpensa in S. Africa is declining due to destructive over-harvesting and destruction of its wetland habitats. The plant has become seriously endangered in South Africa, therefore cultivation trials have been carried out in the country[]. This is, however, a widespread species that is found throughout Sub-Saharan Africa and, globally, the plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2018)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Eastern Africa - Sudan and Ethiopia south through eastern DR Congo and Tanzania to S. Africa and Madagascar.

Habitat

Swamps, on damp cool ground and in grass by streams; upland forest level; at elevations from 1,500 - 3,800 metres[].

Properties

Conservation Status	Least Concern
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Perennial
Height	0.70 m
Pollinators	Wind
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Although it can grow at quite high elevations in the tropics, this species cannot tolerate frost and even when growing in warm protective areas it will die back for the coldest months of the year[].
Grows in the wild in wet soil or shallow water[]. An obligate wetland plant, it grows in shallow water around the edge of pools in marshy areas or along streams[].
This is the only genus of flowering plants that has a symbiotic relationship with a nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria (blue-green algae). Also, it is the only group of land plants that host the cyanobacteria in intercellular spaces, in other words the cyanobacteria live in the spaces between the cells[]. Other angiosperms, for instance many of the plants in the pea family, have nitrogen-fixing bacteria that occur within specialized cells, not outside the cell wall[].
It is believed that species of the genus Gunnera have existed for about 95 million years[].

Edible Uses

Leaves - chewed or cooked[].

The petioles and flower stalks - raw[295. The petioles have a bitter taste unless the fibrous vascular bundles and the outer covering are removed[].

The plant (part not specified but likely to be the petiole) is cooked and eaten as a vegetable[].
The plant is an ingredient in traditional beer[].

Medicinal

A decoction of the roots is used to treat dyspepsia, male impotence; to help expel the placenta after birth; and to relieve menstrual pains[, ]. The decoction, in brandy, is used to treat kidney problems[].
An infusion of the root has been taken both internally and externally as a treatment for psoriasis[].
The root has been used to make a dressing for wounds[].

In traditional medicines a decoction of the plant is used to remove excess fluid from the body or excess blood and the placenta in humans and cattle[].


The leaves, rhizomes roots and stems of this species are widely used in traditional medicine in southern Africa. Some uses include relieving pains such as headaches and menstrual cramps; helping in childbirth and stimulating milk production; as well as treating infections and parasites; colds, infertility, cancer and heart disease[].

Studies have shown that extracts of this plant are potentially anthelmintic, antibacterial, antifungal, antiinflammatory, antioxidant, antitumour, lactogenic, and uterotonic although long term use may have detrimental effects such as diarrhoea and leg paralysis[]. T

Agroforestry Uses:

Gunnera species have a high potential for use in the recovery of lands affected by erosion, given their condition as colonizing plants that are capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen through symbiosis with the cyanobacterium Nostoc punctiform[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe, it germinates best in very moist, but not wet, conditions and temperatures of around 22 - 29°c..

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