Botanical name:

Gahnia procera 

Common name(s):

Giant sedge, gahnia, mountain gahnia

About:

A robust tussock-forming perennial sedge characterised by its prominent tufts that arise from a short and sturdy rootstock. The culms, which are the aerial stems of the plant, can grow to impressive lengths of up to 1.2 m and are densely crowded together at the base, giving the plant a distinctive and lush appearance.

Natural habitat: 

Montane to subalpine up to 1300m. Usually in forest and subalpine scrub. Mostly in cool, shaded sites on peat but at higher altitudes and in cloud forest it often grows in more open sites, in boulder field, on rubble slopes, on cliff faces and on the margins of mires and bogs in subalpine scrub.

Growing environment:

Shade, Wind, Frost & Free draining tolerant.

Endemic distribution:

New Zealand’s North, South and Stewart islands. In the North Island known from the Coromandel Peninsula south of which it is mostly confined to the main axial ranges. In the South Island confined to the wetter western areas of Nelson, Westland and Fiordland with rare extensions east into Marlborough and Canterbury. Found throughout Stewart Island.

Height: 1.2m 

Flowering:  

December – February 

Fruiting:

Orange-brown fruit can be found throughout the year.

Uses: 

Bird food / Attractant, Bee food, Riparian plantings.

How to grow:

Difficult to cultivate. Best results are achieved with seed sown into untreated saw dust. Plants resent root disturbance and usually die if transplanted. Despite these problems this is an attractive species well worth attempting to grow. Once established it flourishes in a range of conditions but does best in partial shade in a damp, humus-enriched but well drained soil.