{"title":"A tale of two species: Pringlea antiscorbutica and Azorella polaris, sub-Antarctic scurvy remedies","authors":"Karri Horton Hartley, Paul L. Guy, Janice M. Lord","doi":"10.1017/s0032247424000019","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><span>Pringlea antiscorbutica</span> (Brassicaceae) and <span>Azorella polaris</span> (syn. <span>Stilbocarpa polaris</span>, Apiaceae) are endemic sub-Antarctic flowering plants of significant ecological and historical importance. <span>Pringlea antiscorbutica</span> occurs on Îles Kerguelen and Crozet, Prince Edward, and the Heard and MacDonald Islands; <span>A. polaris</span> 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 <span>P. antiscorbutica</span> as a scurvy remedy was promoted by Cook and Anderson, leading to a greater historical legacy than <span>A. polaris</span>, and a unique contemporary research focus on the plant’s nutritional value and cultivation potential. In contrast, contemporary studies of <span>A. polaris</span> have been directed primarily at the plant’s protection. <span>Pringlea antiscorbutica</span> and <span>A. polaris</span> are intrinsically linked to human associations with the sub-Antarctic islands, which further increases their cultural and conservation value.</p>","PeriodicalId":49685,"journal":{"name":"Polar Record","volume":"16 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4000,"publicationDate":"2024-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Polar Record","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247424000019","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ECOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
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.
期刊介绍:
Polar Record is an international, peer-reviewed scholarly periodical publishing results from a wide range of polar research areas. The journal covers original primary research papers in the humanities, social sciences, physical sciences, life sciences, and polar technology, as well as papers concerning current political, economic, legal, and environmental issues in the Arctic or Antarctic. Polar Record endeavours to provide rapid publication, normally within nine months of initial submission.