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Gibbs's Māori onion is a small tussock-dwelling perennial bulb from New Zealand, with dark-yellow flowers in a conical raceme. It is a cold-climate native best grown in cool, moist conditions.
Bulbinella gibbsii, commonly known as Gibbs's Māori onion, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asphodelaceae. It is endemic to New Zealand, primarily found in the South Island. B. gibbsii is typically found in cold habitats in soils with high water content, and typically in tussock grasslands. There are two recognised varieties of B. gibbsii, var. gibbsii and var. balanifera. B. gibbsii, var. gibbsii reaches a height of up to 300 mm tall, while var. balanifera can reach 600 mm tall. B. gibbsii was first described in 1909 by the New Zealand botanist Leonard Cockayne, var. balanifera was described by the botanist Lucy Moore in 1964. It gets its specific epithet, gibbsii, after the New Zealand educationalist Frederick Gibbs.
Bulbinella gibbsii is endemic to New Zealand. Bulbinella gibbsii var. gibbsii's range is restricted to the Stewart Island, however, var. balanifera has a more widespread range covering the North and South Islands. In the North Island, var. balanifera is only found in the Tararua Ranges and the southern portion of the Ruahine Ranges. In the South Island, var. balanifera is more common, occurring from Arthur's Pass south to Fiordland. B. gibbsii var. gibbsii's 2023 assessment in the New Zealand Threat Classification System was "At Risk — Naturally Uncommon". B. gibbsii var. balanifera's assessment was "Not Threatened".
Evidence presented by a 1971 study suggests that the indigenous Māori people wove leaves from B. gibbsii var. balanifera into plaited baskets and floor mats. There are no other recorded uses of Bulbinella species by Māori in academic literature and artefacts.
Maori Onion · Bulbinella barkerae · Cat's Tail Bulbinella · Birdsnest Catstail · Maori Onion · Bulbinella modesta · Water Catstail · Ross Lily · Bulbinella talbotii · Catstails
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Bulbinella gibbsii 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.
