A tale of two species
Pringlea antiscorbutica and Azorella polaris , sub-Antarctic scurvy remedies
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9224202 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Karri Horton Hartley (0000-0002-9811-1643, University of Otago), Paul L Guy (0000-0002-0469-4826, University of Otago), Jayne M Lord (0000-0001-8314-0428, University of Otago, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 60 |
| Publication date | 2024-01-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Polar Record (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0032-2474 • E-ISSN: 1475-3057 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0032247424000019 |
| OpenAlex | W4391363526 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 37 |
Pringlea antiscorbutica (Brassicaceae) and Azorella polaris (syn. Stilbocarpa polaris , Apiaceae) are endemic sub-Antarctic flowering plants of significant ecological and historical importance. Pringlea antiscorbutica occurs on Îles Kerguelen and Crozet, Prince Edward, and the Heard and MacDonald Islands; A. polaris on Auckland, Campbell, and Macquarie Islands. We examine the use of these unrelated species of “wild cabbage,” as scurvy remedies and sustenance for eighteenth–nineteenth-century sailors. We trace their European discovery, taxonomic treatment, morphological representation, and cultural association through the historical record. Scurvy killed more sailors during the sixteenth-nineteenth centuries than armed conflict and shipwrecks combined. Both plants were essential to the survival of sailors and formed a nutritious, carbohydrate-rich staple of their diets, however, attitudes to these plants were strongly influenced by cultural background. Use of P. antiscorbutica as a scurvy remedy was promoted by Cook and Anderson, leading to a greater historical legacy than A. polaris , and a unique contemporary research focus on the plant’s nutritional value and cultivation potential. In contrast, contemporary studies of A. polaris have been directed primarily at the plant’s protection. Pringlea antiscorbutica and A. polaris are intrinsically linked to human associations with the sub-Antarctic islands, which further increases their cultural and conservation value
Ascorbic acid · Biology · Geography · Scurvy · Environmental and Cultural Studies in Latin America and Beyond · Geology · Lichen and fungal ecology · Oceanography · Polar Research and Ecology
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |