Azorella polaris explained

Azorella 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.

Uses

A. polaris was used as a food source and a scurvy preventative by early explorers and sealers.^{[1] [2]} It was eaten by the survivors of the 1907 shipwreck of the Dundonald on Disappointment Island.^[3]

Conservation status

It is classified as "At Risk - Naturally Uncommon" in the New Zealand threatened plants classification system.^[4] On Macquarie Island, it was threatened by introduced black rats and European rabbits, until their eradication in 2011.

External links

• Azorella polaris discussed on RNZ Critter of the Week, 12 July 2024

Notes and References

1. Skotnicki . M.. Selkirk . P. . Kitajima . E. . McBride . T. . Shaw . J. . Mackenzie . A. . amp . January 2003 . The first subantarctic plant virus report: Stilbocarpa mosaic bacilliform badnavirus (SMBV) from Macquarie Island . Polar Biology . 26 . 1 . 1–7 . 10.1007/s00300-002-0421-8. 22489620.
2. Hartley . Karri Horton . Guy . Paul . Lord . Janice . 2024 . A tale of two species: Pringlea antiscorbutica and Azorella polaris, sub-Antarctic scurvy remedies . Polar Record . 60 . 10.1017/S0032247424000019. free .
3. Book: Escott-Inman, Herbert . The Castaways of Disappointment Island . S.W. Partridge & Co. . 1911 . London . English.
4. Book: de Lange, Peter . Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2012 . etal . Department of Conservation . 2012 . 978-0-478-14995-1 .