''Gunnera monoica'' is a species of ''
Gunnera
''Gunnera'' is the sole genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Gunneraceae, which contains 63 species. Some species in this genus, namely those in the subgenus ''Panke'', have extremely large leaves. Species in the genus are various ...
'' endemic to
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 is one of the smallest species of ''Gunnera'', with leaves of around wide. It spreads by forming
stolon
In biology, a stolon ( from Latin ''wikt:stolo, stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as a runner, is a horizontal connection between parts of an organism. It may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton. Typically, animal ...
s in damp ground.
Description
''G. monoica'' flowers between October and November, and produces fruit from December until February.
This fruit is barrel shaped and white in colour, though some varieties may have purple or red flecks.
The leaves have a rounded appearance and either a corrugated or spiky margin. The species is visually similar to ''
Gunnera strigosa'', but with differences in the leaf shape and hair distribution. The fruits are small, only 2 millimetres in length, and red to reddish-yellow. It grows in moist, lowland forests and grasslands.
Range
''Gunnera monoica'' is native to New Zealand.
Bibliography
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References
monoica
Flora of New Zealand
{{NewZealand-plant-stub