''Acaena anserinifolia'', the bidibidi, hutiwai, or piripiri, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of plant,

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. It has been introduced to the UK and Ireland. Bidibidi can be used to make a tea, used by both Māori and Pākehā settlers in New Zealand, as well as in ointments for wounds and medical purposes.

Description

The bidibidi is a small plant with deeply divaricated opposite leaflets and long stems ending in a globular capitulum. The flowers are pink, red, or white. It can be told from ''

Acaena novae-zelandiae ''Acaena novae-zelandiae'', commonly known as red bidibid, bidgee-widgee, buzzy and piri-piri bur, is a small Herbaceous plant, herbaceous, prostrate Perennial plant, perennial, native to New Zealand, Australia and New Guinea, of the family Ro ...

'' by "the distinctive tuft of brush-like hairs surmounting the leaf teeth apices," and by silvery leaf undersides.

Range

The plant is native to the

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

, Stewart Island, and the

Chatham Islands The Chatham Islands ( ; Moriori language, Moriori: , 'Misty Sun'; ) are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about east of New Zealand's South Island, administered as part of New Zealand, and consisting of about 10 islands within an approxima ...

in New Zealand. It has been introduced to Antipodean Islands,

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It is naturalised on the Auckland Islands and Campbell Island.

Habitat

Bidibidis grow in lowland to subalpine areas, and on forest edges. They are sometimes hydrorphytic.

Etymology

''Anserinifolia'' is a reference to the leaves, which are like '' Potentilla anserina''.

References

Endemic flora of New Zealand anserinifolia {{Rosaceae-stub