2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Gunner (lat. Gunnera) Is a herbaceous plant belonging to the Gunner family. Gunner got such an interesting name in honor of Ernst Gunner, a famous Norwegian botanist.
Description
Gunner is a fairly large rhizome perennial plant, endowed with lodging stems and rather rough leaves sitting on long petioles. All leaves are rounded and boast serrated leaf blades. Under good conditions, the height of this plant can reach five meters, and the diameter of its leaves is one and a half meters! By the way, outwardly, the gunner is somewhat reminiscent of rhubarb.
The inflorescences of the Gunners look like compact, but at the same time, rather thick panicles, painted in greenish tones pleasant to the eye and consisting of completely inexpressive small flowers. The flowering process of this plant starts in July and ends in August.
In total, the Hunner genus includes about fifty species.
Where grows
Gunnera is a plant native to southern Brazil: there it grows mainly in rain forests, and at a fairly high altitude. Quite often, the gunner can be found in New Zealand or Tasmania, sunny Madagascar, Southeast and South Africa, as well as America - Central and South.
Usage
In the culture of Gunner, it has found its application as an ornamental plant that is widely used for landscape design. This plant will look especially great near large or medium-sized water bodies. And the Hunner Magellan is great for planting near small ponds or in winter gardens, and for growing at home. What's more, it is an excellent groundcover!
In addition, the leaf stalks of some varieties of Gunners are actively used to prepare a wide variety of vegetable dishes, and decoctions from the rhizomes of Gunners exact, which grows mainly in Africa, are used as a sedative for children.
Most popular varieties
Gunner's Magellan. This is the smallest, almost dwarf, plant from the entire family. The diameter of its leaves almost never exceeds five centimeters, and the plant itself usually forms luxurious rugs up to ten centimeters high, no more.
Gunner's dyeing room. Under proper growing conditions, the diameter of its leaves can reach up to one meter.
Gunner's sleeve (vaginal). Its leaves often reach as many as three meters in diameter! True, in the middle lane, the diameter of its leaves rarely exceeds fifty to sixty centimeters. From a distance, this type of gunner is very reminiscent of a well-fed large hogweed. Both the undersides of its leaves and petioles with stalks are densely covered with coarse thorns.
Growing and caring
Best of all, the gunner will feel on swampy shores, in the sun (warm and generously lit areas are the most ideal place for planting this plant!) Or in partial shade. And in order for it to please with its high decorativeness throughout the season, it must be planted on the most fertile soils. Do not discount the fact that Gunner is a very moisture-loving plant.
The gunner cannot boast of good winter hardiness, however, in regions with a rather cool climate, it can sometimes still overwinter with proper warming with twigs or leaves. The most important thing is that the frosts are weak and short. In the middle lane, the rhizomes of the Hunners are usually placed in boxes with well-moistened sand for the winter, after which these boxes are transferred to storage in the cellar. As for the reproduction of this plant, it usually occurs by dividing the rhizomes.
