Common Name:

General Information

Gunnera macrophylla is a herbaceous perennial plant growing from a stoloniferous rootstock. It produces a cluster of large leaves up to 70cm wide, growing on petioles up to 70cm long and 10mm in diameter[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine. The plant has potential for use in soil stabilization and restoration projects[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Southeast Asia - Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines to New Guinea , the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomon Islands

Habitat

Wet or damp places, along brooks, river banks, near waterfalls, wells and seepages, mostly on open or lightly shaded places in disturbed habitats, pioneering on bare lands, along paths, in secondary forests, often gregarious; at elevations to 3,000m[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Perennial
Height	0.70 m
Pollinators	Insects
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

It is believed that species of the genus Gunnera have existed for about 95 million years[].
Gunnera species are unique in the plant realm through having a symbiotic relationship with a cyanobacteria (Nostoc punctiforme and others). This relationship provides nitrogen to the Gunnera and carbon to the cyanobacteria[]. The genus Nostoc is cosmopolitan and common, so it is likely to be naturally present in the wet habitats in which Gunnera grows[, ].

Edible Uses

The fruit is a more or less globose, glabrous, juicy, drupe around 2mm in diameter[].;

Medicinal

The fruits are eaten as a stimulant[].

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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