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Gunnera tinctoria
Also called Giant Rhubarb, Chilean Rhubarb
Chilean gunnera is a giant, clump-forming perennial with huge palmate leaves that can reach about 2.5 m across, and flower spikes up to 1 m tall. It needs moist soil and a sheltered, partly shaded spot, and it is not related to true rhubarb despite the look.
Gunnera tinctoria, known as giant-rhubarb, Chilean rhubarb, quirusilla or nalca, is a flowering plant species native to southern Chile and neighboring zones in Argentina and Bolivia. It is not closely related to rhubarb, as the two plants belong to different orders, but looks similar from a distance and has similar culinary uses. It is a large-leaved perennial plant that grows to more than 2 m (6.6 ft) tall. It has been introduced to many parts of the world as an ornamental plant. In some countries, such as New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, it has spread from gardens and is becoming an introduced species of concern. It is known under the synonyms Gunnera chilensis Lam. and Gunnera scabra Ruiz & Pav.
In its native Chile, where it is called nalca or pangue, it is used in a similar way to European rhubarb: after peeling, the stalks are eaten fresh or cooked into jam or cordial. The leaves are used in the preparation of the traditional Chilean dish curanto. The roots are also traditionally used to tan leather and as a black dye. The species is seldom cultivated. Instead, the stalks are gathered from the wild and informally commercialised by local people known as nalqueros.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Gunnera tinctoria 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.
