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Aciphylla aurea

Golden Spaniard · Golden Speargrass

Family ApiaceaeGenus Aciphylla

A spiny gray-green tussock sending up a tall straw-colored flower spike in a river valley
The whole plantMatt BergerCC BY 4.0

About the plant

What it is and where it grows — not part of any germination protocol.

Habit
perennialPlants of the World Online
Flower
Cream, yellowWikipedia
Native range
New Zealand SouthGBIF Backbone Taxonomy

Toxicity is noted only where a source states it. No note here is not a finding of safety.

Sources: Plants of the World Online — Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Wikipedia — Wikipedia contributors; GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Worth knowing

  • Aurea refers to the golden color of this speargrass, called taramea in Māori and golden Spaniard in New Zealand English. Moa were once its main browsers: the adult leaves carry long spines against birds, but the young leaves are soft. Wikipedia: Aciphylla aurea

This source reports two treatments. Both are shown.

Protocol 1

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty Low Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around March 15, 2027 for a May 3 last frost.

  1. Gibberellic acid soak

  2. Sow and cover

    Temperature: 70°F 21°C

No stated waiting before sowing. Then 21 days to germinate.

100% germination in 21 days.

GA-3 is a requirement, not an improvement. The samples were small, but nothing at all germinated without it and the seedlings were healthy. A preliminary three months at 40 made little difference.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, Aciphylla p. 86Public domain
Show the original text
Aciphylla (Apiaceae). The three species studied require GA-3 for germination. With GA-3 at 70 germination was 3/3 in 3rd w for A. aurea, 2/3 in 3rd w for A. dobsonii, and 1/3 in 4th w for A. hectori. None germ. in the controls. A preliminary 3 m at 40 had little effect. Despite the small samples, the results are dramatic, and the seedlings were healthy. GA-3 treatment is strongly recommended for this difficult group.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Aciphylla p. 86. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

Protocol 2

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

  1. Sow and cover

    Temperature: 70°F 21°C

No stated waiting before sowing.

0% germination.

Nothing germinated without GA-3.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, Aciphylla p. 86Public domain
Show the original text
Aciphylla (Apiaceae). The three species studied require GA-3 for germination. With GA-3 at 70 germination was 3/3 in 3rd w for A. aurea, 2/3 in 3rd w for A. dobsonii, and 1/3 in 4th w for A. hectori. None germ. in the controls.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Aciphylla p. 86. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record; the step names come from a fixed list.

How each step is done, in Deno’s words, and what Verified and Derived mean.

Germination trials

Readers’ own records of sowing this species, published after review. Share your trial · All trials

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