Giant rhubarb, dinosaur food, nalca, panque

Panke tinctoria Molina, Sag. Stor. Nat. Chili, 143, 351. 1782; Gunnera chilensis Lamarck

Herbs 1–2 m. Leaves: petiole 1–1.5 m × 20–45 mm; blade 1–2 m. Peduncles erect, 2–20 cm. Inflorescences 50–75[–100] × 10–25 cm; spikes many, 2–5 cm. Flowers: sepals 1 mm; filaments 0.5 mm; anthers broadly ellipsoid, 0.7–1 mm; styles glandular, 0.7–1.2 mm. Drupes red, 1.5–2[–3] × 1–2 mm. Seeds 1 per fruit. 2n = 34.

Flowering spring, fruiting summer. Disturbed, shaded, damp areas; 0–100 m; introduced; B.C.; Calif., Oreg., Wash.; s South America (Chile); introduced also in w Europe (Ireland), Pacific Islands (New Zealand).

Gunnera tinctoria is cultivated and escaped; it has become naturalized in coastal California (Marin and San Francisco counties), Oregon (Lincoln County), Washington (King County), and British Columbia (Vancouver Island, S. F. Lomer, pers. comm.). Gunnera tinctoria is suit­able for a wetland or bog garden, and the rootstock is hardy to -10°C. The young leaf stalks can be peeled and cooked as a vegetable or eaten raw (U. P. Hedrick 1919). Some other species are occasionally cultivated in North America, including the superficially similar G. manicata; none is reported to escape. A good distinguishing character can be found in the large, laciniate, or jaggedly cut scales at the base of the leaves and inflorescences. In G. manicata, there is a prominent development of membranous webbing between the main lobes of the scale, whereas in G. tinctoria this is not well developed and the lobes are often nearly free to the main rachis of the scale (P. A. Williams et al. 2005). In G. tinctoria, the central part of the main inflorescence axis is 4–4.5 cm, versus 3–3.3 cm in G. manicata.