Common Name: Wild Spaniard

General Information

Aciphylla colensoi is an evergreen perennial plant. It forms a basal rosette of narrow, sharp-pointed leaves about 30 0 50cm long and stout flowering stems that can be up to 3 metres tall[].
The plant is sometimes harvested from the wild for local use as a food. It is sometimes grown as an ornamental.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

New Zealand.

Habitat

Montane to sub-alpine altitudes in North and South Islands between latitudes 38 and 43° 30' south[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Habit	Evergreen Perennial
Height	0.90 m
Pollinators	Insects
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Plants are hardy to about -10°c and are succeeding outdoors in temperate areas with mild winters such as southwest Ireland[]. It prefers a climate with rather damp air[].
Requires a perfectly drained gritty soil in full sun[].
Dioecious. Female plants sometimes have a few male flowers but usually male and female plants must be grown if seed is required[].

Edible Uses

Root - cooked. Aromatic[].

The plant yields a resin that is used as a chewing gum[].

Shoots[]. No further details.

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

A resin is obtained from the plant[].

Propagation

Seed - best sown in a greenhouse as soon as it is ripe[]. Stored seed should be sown in a greenhouse in late winter or early spring. Germination can be very slow. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter before planting them out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Seedlings look rather like a young carrot plant[].