''Acaena novae-zelandiae'', commonly known as red bidibid, bidgee widgee, buzzy and piri-piri bur, is a small

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition ...

, prostrate perennial, native to

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 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

, Australia and

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

, of the family Rosaceae.

Description

''Acaena novae-zelandiae'' is a small

perennial. It is stoloniferous with prostrate stems of 1.5 – 2 mm diameter. Damage to stolons encourages new shoots to be produced. Acaena novae-zealandiae

It has imparipinnate leaves, with 9–15 toothed, oblong leaflets, which are approximately 2 –11 cm long. The adaxial surface of the leaves is dark green and shiny, and the abaxial surface is hairy and glaucous green in colouration. The rachis of the leaves is often red. The scape is 10 – 15 cm long and bears a globular, terminal

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 ...

, of 20 – 25 mm diameter, with 70 – 100 flowers. The flowers lack petals and can range in colour from green to white or purple. The flowers are wind pollinated. Acaena novae-zealandiae seeds on glove

Each flower produces one achene, bearing four approximately 10 mm long spines, tipped with barbs, which aid dispersal by attaching to wool, feathers and various clothing materials. When the fruit are ripe, these spines are red in colouration, later becoming brown.

Taxonomy and naming

''Acaena novae-zelandiae'' was first formally described in 1871 by Thomas Kirk who published the description in Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. The

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

name (''Acaena'') is derived from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

word ''akaina'' meaning "thorn" or "spine", referring to the spiny

calyx Calyx or calyce (plural "calyces"), from the Latin ''calix'' which itself comes from the Ancient Greek ''κάλυξ'' (''kálux'') meaning "husk" or "pod", may refer to: Biology * Calyx (anatomy), collective name for several cup-like structures ...

of many species of ''Acaena''. The specific epithet (''novae-zelandiae'') refers to New Zealand.

Distribution and habitat

Red bidibid is native to

, Australia and

. It has also become naturalised in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It is regarded as invasive in Great Britain where it has established itself in places such as dune habitats on Lindisfarne. It occurs within a wide range of habitats, including woodlands, shrublands and

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

s, from coastal areas to alpine areas. It grows in freely draining soils such as silty and sandy

loam Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand ( particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–si ...

s, typically on sites which receive a high amount of sunlight. It also establishes readily on disturbed sites such as roadsides.

Uses

''Acaena novae-zelandiae'' may be used for ground cover in gardens or as a lawn substitute. This plant can be prevented from spreading by limiting disturbance to stolons, thus reducing vegetative propagation, and by mowing flowers before the burrs form. It has also been suggested that dried “tiny tips” of young succulent leaves may be brewed as tea.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2714984 novae-zelandiae Garden plants of New Zealand Garden plants of Australia Rosales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of South Australia Flora of Victoria (Australia) Flora of Tasmania Plants described in 1871