Aciphylla monroi

Botanical name: Aciphylla monroi

Common name(s): Little Speargrass

Plant facts:

A compact alpine speargrass forming clusters of stiff grey-green rosettes. Smaller and less aggressive in appearance than many other Aciphylla species, it develops attractive rounded clumps with finely divided leathery foliage and compact flowering heads.

Natural habitat:

Typically found in alpine and subalpine grasslands, rocky slopes, fellfields, and open herbfields.

Growing environment:

Frost, Sun, Wind & Free draining tolerant.

Endemic distribution:

Endemic to New Zealand.

Height:

Foliage rosettes up to 20 cm across, flowering stems reaching approximately 30 cm tall

Flowering:

Summer with white to pale yellow coloured flowers

Fruiting:

Late summer to autumn

Uses:

• Alpine and rock gardens
• Dryland native landscapes
• Tussock and scree plantings
• Architectural foliage feature
• Specialist native collections

Appearance:

Growth habit:
Forms grouped rosettes, sometimes spreading slowly by rhizomes to create small clustered colonies.

Leaves:
Leaves are rigid, leathery, and grey-green to yellowish-green, divided into several narrow sharply pointed leaflets. The foliage often folds upward, giving the plant a tidy compact appearance.

Flower stems:
Produces stout upright flowering stems topped with dense rounded umbels of small pale flowers. Male and female flower heads differ slightly in size and structure.

Fruit:
Develops dark to pale brown winged fruits adapted for wind dispersal in exposed alpine environments.

How to grow:

Thrives in full sun with very free-draining soil or rocky alpine conditions. Extremely hardy to frost, wind, and snow once established. Best suited to dry rock gardens, scree beds, or raised alpine plantings where moisture does not accumulate around the roots.