''Aciphylla colensoi'' is a species of ''

Aciphylla ''Aciphylla'' is a genus of about 40 species of plants in the family Apiaceae, endemic to New Zealand and Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of ...

'', commonly known as giant speargrass, Spaniard, or its Māori-language name . Individual plants may be up to in diameter and half as high, and consist of sharp spines, all pointing out from the centre. Yellow flowers may also be present, located on long, strong stems. ''A. colensoi'' can be found in both main islands of

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 ...

, typically in altitudes from .

Taxonomy & naming

Joseph Hooker Joseph Hooker (November 13, 1814 – October 31, 1879) was an American Civil War general for the Union, chiefly remembered for his decisive defeat by Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863. Hooker had serv ...

first described the plant in 1864. The specific epithet, ''colensoi'', honours

William Colenso William Colenso (17 November 1811 – 10 February 1899) FRS was a Cornish Christian missionary to New Zealand, and also a printer, botanist, explorer and politician. He attended the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and later wrote an accou ...

Distribution

It is found on both the North and South Islands of

References

External links

Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture article on A. colensoi
Apioideae Flora of New Zealand Taxa named by Joseph Dalton Hooker Plants described in 1864 {{NewZealand-plant-stub