Stilbocarpa polaris
# Stilbocarpa polaris

Stilbocarpa polaris, commonly known as the Macquarie Island cabbage, is a species of flowering plant usually placed in the family Araliaceae and only very distantly related to cabbage. It is a megaherb, growing up to about a metre in height, native to the subantarctic islands of New Zealand and to Australia’s Macquarie Island.

## Uses

S. polaris was used as a food source and a scurvy preventative by early explorers and sealers.

## Conservation status

It is classified as "At Risk - Naturally Uncommon" in the New Zealand threatened plants classification system. On Macquarie Island, it was threatened by introduced black rats and European rabbits, until their eradication in 2011.

