Gunnera manicata

Gunnera manicata is a large, clump-forming herbaceous perennial growing to {{convert|2.5|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} tall by {{convert|4|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} or more in width. The leaves of G. manicata grow to an impressive size. Leaves with diameters well in excess of {{convert|4|ft|cm|-1|order=flip|abbr=on}} are commonplace, with a spread of {{convert|10x10|ft|m|0|order=flip|abbr=on}} on a mature plant.The largest on record had leaves up to {{convert|11|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us|spell=in}} in width.The Garden Volume 63 issue 1831 (February 21, 1903) page 125 It is the largest of all the Gunneras, but not the tallest (see Gunnera masafuerae). The underside of the leaf and the whole stalk have spikes on them. In early summer it bears tiny red-green, dimerous flowers in conical branched panicles, followed by small, spherical fruit. Like most gunneras, it has a symbiotic relationship with certain blue-green algae which provide nitrogen by fixation.

Despite the common name "giant rhubarb" it is not closely related to true rhubarb. It was named after a Norwegian bishop and naturalist Johan Ernst Gunnerus, who also named and published a description about the basking shark.Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. (2023). FishBase. Cetorhinus maximus (Gunnerus, 1765). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=105837 on 2023-05-11

Gunnera manicata is native to the Serra do Mar mountains of coastal Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul states, Brazil, where it is used in traditional medicine for sexually transmitted diseases.{{cite journal |first=Kristiane de Cássia |last=Mariotti |first2=Roselena Silvestri |last2=Schuh |first3=Jéssica de |last3=Matos Nunes |first4=Sabrina Pinto |last4=Salamoni |first5=Gabriela |last5=Meirelles |first6=Fabiano |last6=Barreto |first7=Gilsane Lino |last7=Von Poser |first8=Rodrigo Bustos |last8=Singer |first9=Eliane |last9=Dallegrave |first10=Sueli Teresinha |last10=Van Der Sand |first11=Renata Pereira |last11=Limberger |date=Jan 2014 |title=Chemical constituents and pharmacological profile of Gunnera manicata L. extracts |url=http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1984-82502014000100015 |journal=Brazilian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences |volume=50 |issue=1 |access-date=20 December 2016}}

File:Gunnera manicata 'Aparados da serra' BBM20.BR2261, jardin jungle karlostachys.jpg|Gunnera manicata in the jungle garden in France{{Cite web |title=Jardin Jungle Karlostachys, jardin à visiter en Normandie |url=https://www.jardinjungle.com/ |access-date=2025-02-08 |website=jardin-jungle |language=fr}}

File:Gunnera au Jardin Jungle Karlostachys.jpg|Gunnera × cryptica, jardin jungle

Giant rhubarb came to be widely cultivated in the United Kingdom and Ireland as an ornamental garden plant. It was primarily grown for its massive leaves. It grows best in damp conditions such as near garden ponds, but dislikes winter cold and wet.{{cite web |title = Gunnera manicata |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/8136/gunnera-manicata/details | publisher = RHS | access-date = 22 March 2022}}

However, in 2022, the Royal Horticultural Society found that these plants were actually Gunnera × cryptica, a hybrid of G. manicata with highly invasive Gunnera tinctoria.{{Cite journal |last1=Shaw |first1=Julian M. H. |last2=Edwards |first2=Dawn |last3=David |first3=John |date=2022 |title=A new spontaneous hybrid in Gunnera subgenus Panke (Gunneraceae) widespread in the British Isles, with notes on the typification of G. manicata |journal=British & Irish Botany |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=364–384 |doi=10.33928/bib.2022.04.364 |name-list-style=amp |doi-access=free }}

In December 2023, the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs banned Gunnera × cryptica: it cannot be sold or cultivated, and those who have it in their gardens must ensure it does not spread.{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/08/uk-bans-popular-garden-plant-gunnera-after-study-finds-it-an-invasive-species|title=UK bans giant rhubarb after study finds popular garden plant is invasive species |first1=Helena|last1=Horton |date=8 December 2023 |newspaper=The Guardian}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/12/08/common-garden-plant-banned-defra-new-study-finds-invasive/|title=Sale of common garden plant banned as study reveals it's invasive |first=Emma |last=Gatten |date=8 December 2023 |newspaper=The Telegraph |url-access=subscription}}

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{{Commons|Gunnera_manicata|Gunnera manicata}}

• {{cite book | author=Pink, A. | url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11892|title=Gardening for the Million| year=2004 | publisher=Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation}}
• [https://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plant_finder/plant_pages/358.shtml Gunnera manicata]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1634712}}

manicata

Category:Flora of Brazil

Category:Plants described in 1867