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Colobanthus kerguelensis

Colobanthus kerguelensis
Photo: Joseph Dalton Hooker, Public domain

Colobanthus kerguelensis is a small, moss-like cushion-forming perennial from the Caryophyllaceae family, native to cold subantarctic islands in the southern Indian Ocean. It is a wild species rarely grown in gardens, so care notes here are general guidance for cold, exposed conditions.

Family
Caryophyllaceae (Pink & carnation family)
Grows as
Shrub
Light
Full sun
Water
Water moderately, letting the top of the soil dry slightly between waterings.
Soil
Free-draining, sandy or gritty mix with some organic matter.
Temperature
5–15 °C; tolerates cold but protect from prolonged heat above 25 °C.
How easy
Hard
Native range
Kerguelen, Crozet Is., Marion I., Prince Edward I., Heard I.
Climate
temperate

About

Colobanthus kerguelensis is a low-growing, moss-like flowering cushion plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, found on subantarctic islands in the southern Indian Ocean. The specific epithet refers to the type locality – the Kerguelen Islands.

Where it grows

As well as on Kerguelen, Colobanthus kerguelensis occurs on the Crozet, Prince Edward, and Heard Islands. It has been recorded from gravel substrates in the supralittoral or sea spray zone, in well-drained peaty and sandy soils with Azorella selago, and in feldmark, up to elevations of 30 m above sea level. It is a pioneer coloniser of recently deglaciated areas.

Other Colobanthus plants

Colobanthus acicularis · Colobanthus canaliculatus · Colobanthus muscoides · Antarctic pearlwort · Vascular Plants

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Colobanthus kerguelensis 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.

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