Stilbocarpa polaris, commonly known as the Macquarie Island cabbage, is a species of flowering plant usually placed in the family Araliaceae and only very distantly related to cabbage. It is a megaherb, growing up to about a metre in height, native to the subantarctic islands of New Zealand and to Australia’s Macquarie Island.
S. polaris was used as a food source and a scurvy preventative by early explorers and sealers.[1]
It is classified as "At Risk - Naturally Uncommon" in the New Zealand threatened plants classification system.[2] On Macquarie Island, it was threatened by introduced black rats and European rabbits,[1] until their eradication in 2011.
Taxon identifiers | |
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Stilbocarpa polaris |
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Aralia polaris |
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