About Gunnera magellanica Lam.
Scientific name: Gunnera magellanica Lam.
Unlike its related species G. tinctoria and G. manicata, Gunnera magellanica has small leaves, approximately 6 cm (2.4 in) across. Its leaves are rounded or kidney-shaped, have stipules, are borne on long petioles that measure 2–10 cm (0.79–3.94 in), and have crenate edges. Its flowers are unisexual, and female inflorescences are shorter than male inflorescences. The fruit is a bright red berry-like drupe 3–5 mm in diameter. Its leaves die back during the austral autumn, so G. magellanica survives year-round via underground rhizomes, and is therefore classified as a cryptophyte.
