Colletia paradoxa
Common names
Anchor plant
Biostatus
Exotic
Conservation status
Not applicable
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
A nearly leafless shrub that grows slowly to 2-3 m tall with oppositely-arranged flattened 50 mm wide triangular spine-tipped gray-green photosynthetic stems (cladodes) that resemble a ship’s anchor. Small creamy-white lightly-fragrant flowers at the stem joints bloom in late summer or fall. New growth has small leaves that are present only briefly.
Flower colours
Cream, White
Distribution
Seedlings found near planted garden specimen near Whanganui
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Synonyms
Colletia cruciata Gill.&Hook.
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Year naturalised
2008
Origin
Uruguay, western Argentina and southern Brazil
Reason for introduction
Ornamental
Propagation technique
seed, cuttings
Other information
Etymology
colletia: The genus name honors French botanist Philibert Collet (1643-1718).
paradoxa: From Greek ‘paradoxos’ = unexpected, strange, marvellous
Referencing and citations
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by C C Ogle, 9 Dec. 2014