A vigorous, spreading groundcover with striking purple-bronze foliage. A plant that paints the ground purple. The leaves are small, fern-like, and deeply divided, giving them a soft, feathery texture. The colour is most intense in cooler months, when the purple-bronze tones deepen and become more pronounced. In summer, the colour may fade to a greenish-bronze. A plant that changes with the seasons. The plant produces small, burr-like flowers in summer. The flowers are not showy, but they are followed by burrs that can stick to clothing. Unlike other Acaena species, this cultivar has spineless (inermis) burrs that do not stick, making it more garden-friendly. A plant that does not cling. Purple Acaena is extremely hardy, tolerating drought, frost and coastal conditions. It is excellent for covering banks, suppressing weeds and adding colour contrast to the garden. The vigorous growth allows it to cover large areas quickly, forming a dense, weed-suppressing mat. A plant that takes over, but in a good way. The cultivar was selected for its purple foliage and spineless burrs. The parent species, Acaena inermis, is native to the alpine areas of the South Island. This cultivar was bred for garden use, selected for its striking colour and more manageable burrs. To find Purple Acaena is to look in gardens and rockeries throughout New Zealand. It is a plant of cultivation, not of the wild. The purple-bronze leaves create a bold carpet, a splash of colour in the garden. The bank is bare. The acaena spreads, purple-bronze and dense, covering the ground, suppressing the weeds. It does not know it was bred in a garden. It does not know it has a name. It just spreads. That is what groundcovers do.