Plant Profiles

This genus of two scrambling shrubs is confined to New Zealand. Only one of the species, Scandia rosifolia, has potential for widespread appeal as a garden plant, although S. geniculata is still worthy of cultivation to those with a special interest in the native flora. There are certain plants that defy common perceptions of what New Zealand natives look like; S. rosifolia is one such plant. It has more of the appearance of a traditional garden perennial; especially when in bloom, at which time it bears large quantities of white flower heads that have a great resemblance to an old-fashioned garden favourite, Queen Anne's Lace (Ammi majus).

Scandia is, in fact, relatively closely related to Queen Anne's Lace and other members of the widespread carrot family, Apiaceae. Members of the carrot family, which are commonly referred to as umbellifers (based on the shape of their flower heads), are common inhabitants of wastelands and roadsides throughout the world. They lend an air of lightness and informality to garden spaces, and for me they bring to mind romantic associations of English country lanes. The Dutch plantsman, Piet Oudolf, is a notable fan of this group of plants, which he frequently utilises within his design work. In addition to Scandia, New Zealand contains several other genera from the carrot family, the most horticulturally significant being Anisotome and Aciphylla.

Scandia rosifolia
Koheriki

Over the summer months, this beautiful sprawling groundcover covers its bright green foliage with sprays of delicate white flowers. S. rosifolia is a good example of the difference between the flowering performance of plants within the wild and those grown in gardens. As an inhabitant of cliffs, banks and rocky sites, it is often subjected to tough conditions in nature, and as a result can be smaller in stature, with decreased flowering impact. However, when grown under good garden conditions, it forms more attractive specimens, bearing denser foliage and significantly larger flowers. It is, as yet, not well-known in gardens, although it deserves to be much more widely grown (especially within native plantings or mixed perennial gardens).

It is often compared with the commonly grown herb, angelica (Angelica archangelica); an appropriate comparison, as the foliage and habit of both species is relatively similar, although the leaves of S. rosifolia exhibit a much lighter green colour than angelica¹. Two distinct forms of this species are considered to exist²; one of which occurs in coastal areas, with the other occurring primarily on limestone cliffs.

Scandia rosifolia is a threatened species, and is currently classified as 'Declining' in the wild. One of the primary threats is that it is quite a palatable species, meaning that remaining populations endure in locations that browsing animals find difficult to access, such as cliffs. The impact of browsing animals is a common threat to native species, and leads to not only the disappearance of established plants, but (perhaps more importantly) a lack of 'recruitment' of young plants, to replenish the population. S. rosifolia is found from the Three Kings Islands down to the lower North Island.

Footnotes

For many years, Scandia rosifolia was designated as Angelica rosaefolia. It was originally classified by W.J. Hooker as Anisotome rosaefolia.
The distinction between the two forms is noted on the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network's website, www.nzpcn.org.nz, and in the most recent expanded publication of Eagle's Trees and Shrubs of New Zealand. Within the latter, it was the ambition of the author to provide the most up-to-date information on native species, even where distinctions have not yet been fully formally recognised. As a result, it is a valuable resource concerning the latest botanical research. The late Tony Druce, one of New Zealand's most important botanists, recognised this distinction in his notes on the Te Mata Peak populations of S. rosifolia, which grow on inland limestone cliffs on the Peak.