Stilbocarpa polaris

Stilbocarpa polaris, commonly known as the Macquarie Island cabbage, is a species of flowering plant usually placed in the family Araliaceae. It is a megaherb, growing up to about a metre in height, native to the subantarctic islands of New Zealand and to Australia’s Macquarie Island.

Stilbocarpa polaris
Stilbocarpa polaris on Campbell Island
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Apiales
Family: Araliaceae
Genus: Stilbocarpa
Species:
S. polaris
Binomial name
Stilbocarpa polaris
(Homb. et Jacq.) Gray
Synonyms
  • Aralia polaris

Uses

S. polaris was used as a food source and a scurvy preventative by early explorers and sealers.[1]

Conservation status

It is classified as "At Risk - Naturally Uncommon" in the New Zealand threatened plants classification system.[2] On Macquarie Island, it was threatened by introduced black rats and European rabbits,[1] until their eradication in 2011.

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References
  1. Skotnicki, M.; Selkirk, P.; Kitajima, E.; McBride, T.; Shaw, J. & Mackenzie, A. (January 2003). "The first subantarctic plant virus report: Stilbocarpa mosaic bacilliform badnavirus (SMBV) from Macquarie Island". Polar Biology. 26 (1): 1–7. doi:10.1007/s00300-002-0421-8.
  2. de Lange, Peter; et al. (2012). Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2012 (PDF). Department of Conservation. ISBN 978-0-478-14995-1.
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