Renowned for their massive leaves, many Gunnera species are actually quite small and neat. Whatever their size, this genus of over 60 species can be found largely in the southern hemisphere, with species in Central and South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, Tasmania, New Zealand, Hawaii, and several other Pacific islands. Gunnera is named after the Norwegian cleric and botanist Johann Ernst Gunnerus and formerly was distributed around the world, its distinctive pollen appearing in the fossil records of Australia, Antarctica, and North America. Today, a few of the species have become invasive in such far afield locations as Britain, New Zealand, and California.

In Chile, the two common species of Gunnera are the massive G. tinctoria (or nalca) and the diminutive G. magellanica (or frutilla del diablo), both of which can be found here in the Traveler’s Garden. Nalca occurs in a range of habitats from sea level up to 3,000’ in the Andes and is particularly common above the beaches on the island of Chiloé, where it forms huge groves. The leaves can reach 9’ across and the leaf stalks (petioles) can be peeled and eaten. Nalca flowers are very small, but hundreds are grouped together to form a massive conical inflorescence; each flower matures into a small orange fruit.

Photos: Gunnera magellanica, Gunnera tinctoria.

Gunnera magellanica, named after the Straits of Magellan, occurs in southern Chile and Argentina, but also in the Andes of Ecuador, Peru, and elsewhere. With leaves up to 2.5” across, it’s a dwarf compared to nalca, but shares a wide variety of habitats. It is known to colonize land exposed as glaciers melt and that’s where it’s nitrogen-fixing ability becomes crucial. Land recently exposed by glaciers is poor in nutrients, and especially the essential nitrogen, so the symbiotic relationship between Gunnera and Nostoc allows this mini rhubarb to thrive on land long before other plants can utilize it. The fruits of Gunnera magellanica have earned it the name of Devil’s strawberry with each tiny berry being similar in size to those of the much larger nalca.