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Brachyglottis repanda
Also called Hedge Ragwort, Bush Man’s Toilet Paper, Pukapuka
Bushman's friend (rangiora) is a small bushy tree or tall shrub native to New Zealand and the Chatham Islands, grown for its large leaves with white woolly undersides. It is easy to grow from seed or cuttings but can be short-lived and needs a hard prune after flowering.
Brachyglottis repanda, the rangiora or bushman's friend, is a small, bushy tree or tall shrub endemic to New Zealand. It grows to a height of 5 to 7 meters (16 to 23 ft). The petioles of the leaves have a characteristic groove up to 10 centimetres (3.9 in) long. The large leaves with a soft furry underside have been referred to as "bushman's toilet paper".
Rangiora is easy to grow either from seed or from cuttings, though may be short-lived and requires a hard prune after flowering.
Rangiora is poisonous, and has been linked to livestock deaths and poisonings. When used in Māori traditional cuisine, the gum of the plant is used as a chewing gum and not swallowed, or leaves of the plant are used to wrap food cooked in a hāngī. The botanist and chemist Bernard Aston reported that the honey made by bees produced with the nectar from rangiora is poisonous, and for this reason Māori never collected honey when it was in flower. Livestock, particularly horses, are affected by the plant's toxins, making the animals appear drunk, stagger around and fall, often to their death, as a result.
Rangiora is endemic to New Zealand, growing in the North Island and the South Island as far south as Greymouth. It is often an early pioneer species in disturbed areas of forest.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Brachyglottis repanda by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
