''Anisotome latifolia'', commonly known as the Campbell Island carrot, is a species of plant in the genus ''

Anisotome ''Anisotome'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apiaceae. It has 16 species and is found in Australia and New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two ...

'' of the carrot family (

Apiaceae Apiaceae or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus ''Apium'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering plants ...

). It is native to the

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

and

Campbell Islands The Campbell Islands (or Campbell Island Group) are a group of subantarctic islands, belonging to New Zealand. They lie about 600 km south of Stewart Island. The islands have a total area of , consisting of one big island, Campbell Isla ...

in the subantarctic regions of the South Pacific.

Description

''Anisotome latifolia'' is a large and robust

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

, growing up to 2 m in height. The leathery basal

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are 300–600 mm long and 100–200 mm wide, 2-pinnate with 5-7 pairs of dark to yellow-green leaflets. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

axis grows up to 2 m, with a 10–15 mm diameter at the first node. The flowers vary from off-white to a creamy pink in colour. The plant flowers from October to February and fruits from January to March.

Distribution and habitat

The plant is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

subantarctic The sub-Antarctic zone is a region in the Southern Hemisphere, located immediately north of the Antarctic region. This translates roughly to a latitude of between 46° and 60° south of the Equator. The subantarctic region includes many islands ...

and

, where it is a striking component of the

megaherb Megaherbs are a group of herbaceous wildflowers growing in the New Zealand subantarctic islands and on the other subantarctic islands. They are characterised by their great size, with huge leaves and very large and often unusually coloured flowers ...

community. It occurs from the coast up to the tops of the island ranges on

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

y ground among tussocks and other megaherbs, though more rarely under low forest. It is most abundant at lower altitudes and where the vegetation is not subject to

browsing Browsing is a kind of orienting strategy. It is supposed to identify something of relevance for the browsing organism. When used about human beings it is a metaphor taken from the animal kingdom. It is used, for example, about people browsing o ...

by introduced animals. Aciphylla latifolia 137-8407

Cultivation

The plant is easy to grow from fresh seed in deep, peaty, permanently moist soil, though it does not tolerate hot weather.

References

Apioideae Flora of the Auckland Islands Flora of the Campbell Islands {{Apiaceae-stub