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Rosaceae FAMILY

Acaena novae-zelandiae

Acaena novae-zelandiae

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Perennial
GrowthFast

An easily grown plant, it succeeds in ordinary well-drained soil in sun or semi-shade[1, 2]. Requires a warm position[3]. Adaptable to poorly-drained soils in Australia[4].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse. Germination, which can be very poor, usually takes place within 1 - 3 months at 10°c[1]. When the seedlings are large enough to handle, prick them out into individual pots, planting them out in the summer. Division in spring or early autumn. Very easy, the plants can be divided at any time of the year if required, though it will need to be done in a greenhouse during the winter months. Cuttings - mid-summer in a cold frame. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Acaena+novae-zelandiae>

Pollinators

Wind

References

  1. [1]Growing from Seed. Volume 1. — Rice. G. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1987 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation.
  2. [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  3. [3]Plants for Ground Cover — Thomas. G. S. · J. M. Dent & Sons · 1990 · ISBN 0-460-12609-1 ↩︎An excellent detailled book on the subject, very comprehensive.
  4. [4]Australian Native Plants. — Wrigley. J. W. and Fagg. M. · Collins. (Australia) · 1988 · ISBN 0-7322-0021-0 ↩︎A lovely book, written in order to encourage Australian gardeners to grow their native plants. A little bit of information for the plant project.
  5. [5]Flora of New Zealand. — Allan. H. H. · Government Printer, Wellington. · 1961 · http://floraseries.landcareresearch.co.nz/pages/Book.aspx?fileName=Flora%201.xml · ISBN - ↩︎The standard work, in 5 volumes though only the first two are of interest to the plant project. Very good on habitats. There is also an on-line version.
  6. [6]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  7. [7]Wild Food in Australia. — Cribb. A. B. and J. W. · Fontana · 1976 · ISBN 0-00-634436-4 ↩︎A very good pocket guide.
  8. [8]Native Edible Plants of New Zealand. — Crowe. A. · Hodder and Stoughton · 1990 · ISBN 0-340-508302 ↩︎A very well written and illustrated book based on the authors own experiments with living on a native diet.
  9. [9]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  10. [10]A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. — Usher. G. · Constable · 1974 · ISBN 0094579202 ↩︎Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
  11. [11]People Plants Database — https://maoriplantuse.landcareresearch.co.nz/WebForms/default.aspx ↩︎An online database of New Zealand plants and their Maori names and uses. An excellent information source.
  12. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎