Gunnera

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Ordo: Gunnerales

Familia: Gunneraceae
Genus: Gunnera
Species: G. aequatoriensis – G. albocarpa – G. annae – G. antioquensis – G. apiculata – G. arenaria – G. atropurpurea – G. berteroi – G. bogotana – G. bolivari – G. boliviana – G. bracteata – G. brephogea – G. caucana – G. colombiana – G. cordifolia – G. cuatrecasasii – G. densiflora – G. dentata – G. diazii – G. flavida – G. garciae-barrigae – G. hamiltonii – G. hernandezii – G. herteri – G. insignis – G. × katherine-wilsoniae – G. kauaiensis – G. killipiana – G. lobata – G. lozanoi – G. macrophylla – G. magellanica – G. magnifica – G. manicata – G. margaretae – G. masafuerae – G. mexicana – G. mixta – G. monoica – G. morae – G. peltata – G. perpensa – G. peruviana – G. petaloidea – G. pilosa – G. pittieriana – G. prorepens – G. quitoensis – G. reniformis – G. saint-johnii – G. sanctae-marthae – G. schindleri – G. schultesii – G. silvioana – G. steyermarkii – G. strigosa – G. tacueyana – G. tajumbina – G. talamancana – G. tamanensis – G. tayrona – G. tinctoria – G. venezolana
Source(s) of checklist:

Govaerts, R. et al. 2021. Gunnera in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Sep 29. Reference page.

Name

Gunnera L., 1767
Synonyms

Dysemone Sol. ex G.Forst., Fl. Comm. Götting. 9: 45 (1789), nom. nud.
Gunneropsis Oerst., Kjoeb. Vidensk. Meddel. 193 (1857)
Milligania Hook.fil., Hook. Ic. Pl. t. 299 (1840)
Misandra Comm. ex Juss., Gen. 405 (1789)
Misandropsis Oerst., Kjoeb. Vidensk. Meddel. 192 (1857)
Panke Molina, Sagg. Chile, 143 (1782)
Pankea Oerst.
Perpensum Burm.fil., Fl. Cap. Prod. 30 (1768)
Pseudogunnera Oerst., Kjoeb. Vidensk. Meddel. 193 (1857)

Distribution
Native distribution areas:
Gunnera

Continental: South America, Africa & Pacific
Argentina Northwest, Argentina South, Bismarck Archipelago, Bolivia, Borneo, Brazil South, Burundi, Cape Provinces, Chatham Is., Chile Central, Chile South, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Falkland Is., Free State, Guatemala, Hawaii, Honduras, Jawa, Juan Fernández Is., KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Southeast, Mozambique, New Guinea, New Zealand North, New Zealand South, Nicaragua, Northern Provinces, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Solomon Is., Sudan, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Swaziland, Tanzania, Tasmania, Uruguay, Venezuela, Zaïre, Zimbabwe
Introduced into:
Azores, France, Great Britain, Ireland

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition

References
Primary references

Linnaeus., C. 1767–1771. Mantissa Plantarum Altera. Generum editionis VI. & specierum editionis II. [143]–587 pp. Holmiae: Impensis Direct. Laurentii Salvii. Biblioteca Digital. Reference page. : 1: 16

Additional references

Govaerts, R.H.A. 2003. World Checklist of Selected Plant Families Database in ACCESS: 1-216203. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. [unavailable for the public] Reference page.
Mora-Osejo, L.E., Pabón-Mora, N. & González, F. (2011). Flora Neotropica, Monograph 109: 1-166.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2021. Gunnera in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Sep 29. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. Sep. Gunnera. Published online. Accessed: 29 Sep.
Tropicos.org 2021. Gunnera. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Sep 29.
Hassler, M. 2021. Gunnera. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2021. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Sep 29. Reference page.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Gunnera in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 09-Oct-10.

Vernacular names
suomi: Gunnerat
magyar: Óriáslapu

Gunnera is the sole genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Gunneraceae, which contains 63 species. Some species have extremely large leaves. Species in the genus are variously native to Latin America, Australia, New Zealand, Papuasia, Hawaii, insular Southeast Asia, Africa, and Madagascar.[2] The stalks of many species are edible.

Description

The 40–50 species vary enormously in leaf size. The giant rhubarb, or Campos des Loges (Gunnera manicata), native to the Serra do Mar mountains of southeastern Brazil, is perhaps the largest species, with reniform or sub-reniform leaves typically 1.5 to 2.0 meters (4 ft 11 in to 6 ft 7 in) long, not including the thick, succulent petiole which may be up to 2.5 meters (8 feet 2 inches) in length. The width of the leaf blade is typically 2.5 meters (8 feet 2 inches), but on two occasions cultivated specimens (in Dorset, England in 2011[3] and at Narrowwater, Ulster, Ireland[4] in 1903) produced leaves fully 3.3 meters (10 feet 10 inches) in width. The seeds germinate best in very moist, but not wet, conditions and temperatures of 22–29 °C.

Only slightly smaller is G. masafuerae of the Juan Fernandez Islands off the Chilean coast. They can have leaves up to 2.9 m (9 ft 6 in) in width on stout leaf stalks 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) long and 11 cm (4+1⁄2 in) thick according to Skottsberg.[5] These leafstalks or petioles are the thickest of any dicot, and probably also the most massive. On nearby Isla Más Afuera, G. peltata frequently has an upright trunk to 5.5 m (18 ft 1 in) in height by 25–30 cm (10–12 in) thick, bearing leaves up to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) wide. The Hoja de Pantano (G. magnifica) of the Colombian Andes bears the largest leaf buds of any plant; up to 60 cm (2 ft) long and 40 cm (16 in) thick.[6] The succulent leaf stalks are up to 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in) long. The massive inflorescence of small, reddish flowers is up to 2.3 m (7 ft 7 in) long and weighs about 13 kg. Other giant Gunnera species are found throughout the Neotropics and Hawaii. Gunnera insignis is also known by the name "poor man's umbrella" in Costa Rica.

Several small species are found in New Zealand, notably G. albocarpa, with leaves only 1–2 cm long, and also in South America, with G. magellanica having leaves 5–9 cm wide on stalks 8–15 cm long.

Taxonomy

The genus Gunnera was named after the Norwegian botanist Johann Ernst Gunnerus. At first it was assigned to the family Haloragaceae, though that presented difficulties that led to the general recognition of the family Gunneraceae, as had been proposed about the beginning of the 20th century. In the meantime, in many publications it had been referred to as being in the Haloragaceae, variously misspelt (as for example "Halorrhagidaceae".[7]) Such references still cause difficulties in consulting earlier works. However, currently Gunnera is firmly assigned to the monogeneric family Gunneraceae.[8]
Species

[2]

Gunnera aequatoriensis - Ecuador
Gunnera albocarpa - New Zealand
Gunnera annae - Peru, Bolivia
Gunnera antioquensis L.E.Mora - Colombia
Gunnera apiculata - Bolivia, Argentina
Gunnera arenaria - New Zealand
Gunnera atropurpurea - Colombia, Ecuador
Gunnera berteroi - Bolivia, Argentina, Chile
Gunnera bogotana - Colombia
Gunnera bolivari - Peru, Ecuador
Gunnera bracteata - Robinson Crusoe Island in Chile
Gunnera brephogea - Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
Gunnera caucana - Colombia
Gunnera colombiana - Colombia, Ecuador
Gunnera cordifolia - Tasmania
Gunnera cuatrecasasii - Colombia
Gunnera densiflora - New Zealand
Gunnera dentata - New Zealand
Gunnera diazii - Colombia
Gunnera flavida - New Zealand
Gunnera garciae-barrigae - Colombia
Gunnera hamiltonii - New Zealand
Gunnera hernandezii - Colombia
Gunnera herteri Osten - Uruguay, S Brazil
Gunnera insignis - Panama, Nicaragua, Costa Rica
Gunnera kauaiensis - Kauai in Hawaii
Gunnera killipiana - Chiapas, Guatemala, Honduras
Gunnera lobata - Tierra del Fuego
Gunnera lozanoi - Colombia
Gunnera macrophylla - Papuasia,, Indonesia, Philippines
Gunnera magellanica - W + S South America, Falkland Is.
Gunnera magnifica - Colombia
Gunnera manicata - S Brazil
Gunnera margaretae - Peru, Bolivia
Gunnera masafuerae - Alejandro Selkirk Island (Isla Mas Afuera) in Chile
Gunnera mexicana - Veracruz, Chiapas
Gunnera mixta - New Zealand
Gunnera monoica - New Zealand incl Chatham Islands
Gunnera morae - Colombia
Gunnera peltata - Robinson Crusoe Island in Chile
Gunnera perpensa - Africa, Madagascar
Gunnera peruviana - Ecuador, Peru
Gunnera petaloidea - Hawaii
Gunnera pilosa - Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador
Gunnera pittieriana - Venezuela
Gunnera prorepens- New Zealand
Gunnera quitoensis - Ecuador
Gunnera reniformis - New Guinea
Gunnera saint-johnii - Colombia
Gunnera sanctae-marthae - Colombia
Gunnera schindleri - Bolivia, Argentina
Gunnera schultesii - Colombia
Gunnera silvioana - Ecuador, Colombia
Gunnera steyermarkii - Venezuela
Gunnera strigosa- New Zealand
Gunnera tacueyana - Colombia
Gunnera tajumbina - Ecuador, Colombia
Gunnera talamancana - Costa Rica, Panama
Gunnera tamanensis - Colombia
Gunnera tayrona - Colombia
Gunnera tinctoria - Chile, Argentina
Gunnera venezolana - Venezuela

Cyanobacterial symbiosis

At least some species of Gunnera host endosymbiotic cyanobacteria such as Nostoc punctiforme. The cyanobacteria provide fixed nitrogen to the plant, while the plant provides fixed carbon to the microbe.[9] The bacteria enter the plant via glands found at the base of each leaf stalk[1] and initiate an intracellular symbiosis which is thought to provide the plant with fixed nitrogen in return for fixed carbon for the bacterium. This intracellular interaction is unique in flowering plants and may provide insights to allow the creation of novel symbioses between crop plants and cyanobacteria, allowing growth in areas lacking fixed nitrogen in the soil.
Uses

The stalks of G. tinctoria (nalcas), from southern Chile and Argentina, are edible. Their principal use is fresh consumption, but also they are prepared in salads, liquor or marmalade. Leaves of this species are used in covering curanto (a traditional Chilean food).

Gunnera perpensa is a source of traditional medicine in southern Africa, both in veterinary and human ailments, largely in obstetric and digestive complaints, but also as a wound dressing.[7] It also is eaten in various ways, largely the petioles, flower stalks and leaves, fresh and raw, preferably with skins and fibre removed, which is said to remove bitterness, but also cooked. The plant also is said to be used in making a beer.[10]
References

Bergman, B.; Johansson, C.; Söderbäck, E. (1992). "The Nostoc–Gunnera symbiosis". New Phytologist. 122 (3): 379. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.1992.tb00067.x.
Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
"Abbotsbury Gardens celebrates plant's 'monster' leaves". BBC. 14 October 2011.
The Garden (London) Vol. 63 # 1631 (February 21, 1903) p. 125.
Dr Carl Skottsberg, "The Phanerogams of Juan Fernandez Islands", NATURAL HISTORY OF JUAN FERNANDEZ AND EASTER ISLAND (Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksells Buktrykeri A.S., 1953) Vol. 2 p.151.
St. John, Harold, "Gunnera the Magnificent - Giant Herb of Colombia", Chicago Natural History Museum Bulletin, Vol. 30 # 1 (January 1959) p. 3 plus photo on front cover.
Watt, John Mitchell; Breyer-Brandwijk, Maria Gerdina; The Medicinal and Poisonous Plants of Southern and Eastern Africa. E & S Livingstone, 1962; second edition. (Described in chapter on Halorrhagidaceae, p. 500)
Wanntorp, L., Wanntorp, H-E., Oxelman, B., Källersjö, M., "Phylogeny of Gunnera". Plant Systematics and Evolution, vol. 226, no. 1/2 (March 2001), pp. 85-107 [1]
Wong, C. Y., and Meek, John C., "Establishment of a functional symbiosis between the cyanobacterium Nostoc punctiforme and the bryophyte Anthoceros punctatus requires genes involved in nitrogen control and initiation of heterocyst differentiation". Microbiology (2002), 148, 315-323 [www.microbiologyresearch.org]
Fox, Francis William, Food from the veld. Delta Books, 1982 ISBN 978-0908387328