PlantPeers
Back to Catalog
No image available
Apiaceae FAMILY

Aciphylla squarrosa

Aciphylla squarrosa

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Perennial
Growth—

Hardy to about -10°c according to one report[1] whilst another says it is hardy to about -15°c[2]. Requires a perfectly drained gritty soil in full sun[1]. Easily grown in a moist but well-drained soil in full sun[2]. Dioecious but female plants have occasional male flowers[1]. Male and female plants must normally be grown if seed is required. The flowers are sweetly scented[2].

Propagation

Seed - best sown in a greenhouse as soon as it is ripe[1]. 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[1]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Aciphylla+squarrosa>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]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.
  2. [2]Perennials. Volumes 1 and 2. — Phillips. R. & Rix. M. · Pan Books · 1991 · ISBN 0-330-30936-9 ↩︎Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.
  3. [3]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.
  4. [4]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.
  5. [5]Plants for Human Consumption. — Kunkel. G. · Koeltz Scientific Books · 1984 · ISBN 3874292169 ↩︎An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
  6. [6]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.
  7. [7]Plants of New Zealand. — Laing. and Blackwell. · Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd · 1907 · ISBN - ↩︎An old flora of New Zealand in a readable style. Some details of plant uses.