Carex edura
Common names
bastard grass, hook sedge
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Sedges
Detailed description
Laxly tufted or shortly rhizomatous dark yellowish green or orange-green plants. Rhizome 1–2 mm. diameter. Culms 10–400 × 0.5–2.0 mm, erect or ascending, rigid, cartilaginous, subtrigonous, glabrous; basal bracts dull yellow-brown or darker brown. Leaves 4–12 per culm, usually < mature culms but occasionally ≥ culms, 1.5–4.0 mm wide, rather soft to coriaceous, dark yellowish green, scabrid on margins. Spikes 10–45 × 4–10 mm, female flowers numerous, densely crowded, internodes almost all equal, 0.5–1.0 mm long. Glumes occasionally > utricles in lower part of spike, ≤ utricles above, deciduous, subulate or ovate, obtuse to subacute, membranous, hyaline, or light to dark brown and opaque, midrib green with the 3 nerves not very conspicuous, midrib of 1–3 lowest glumes often scabrid and occasionally prolonged in lowermost glume to a scabrid awn. Utricles 3.5–5.0 × 1.0–1.5 mm, trigonous or subtrigonous with conspicuous lateral nerves, greenish brown to dark brown, widely spreading when ripe, contracted below to a broad stipe c. 1 mm long, beak 1.0–1.5 mm long.
Similar taxa
Carex edura is a widespread and variable species. Of the New Zealand species, it is most likely to be confused with C. drucei (Hamlin) K.A.Ford, C. horizontalis (Colenso) K.A.Ford and possibly C. crispa K.A.Ford. From Carex edura, C. drucei differs by the widely spreading, stoloniferous rather than tufted or shortly rhizomatous growth habit; usually more numerous, much narrower, grass-like, soft rather than harshly scabrid leaves, and by the shorter, oblong rather than broadly pyramidal spikes, with smaller dark-brown rather than green-brown to dark brown glossy utricles. Carex horizontalis differs by the dark yellowish green to reddish green rather than bright green leaves and culms. It also differs by its fewer flowered spikelets and green to grey-brown, dull rather than green-brown to dark brown glossy utricles. Carex crispa is easily distinguished by its much narrower, stiffly erect grass-like involute leaves with twisted/curled (cirrhose) leaf rather than straight apices.
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand, North Island (from the Raukumara Range south), South Island and Campbell Island/Motu Ihupuku.
Habitat
Montane to alpine. A species of open forest, scrub, tussock grassland, herbfield, mires, bogs and river beds. Also common on ultramafic soils.
Current conservation status
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
Please note, threat classifications are often suggested by authors when publications fall between NZTCS assessment periods – these interim threat classification statuses has not been assessed by the NZTCS panel.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2023 | Not Threatened
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Cyperaceae
Synonyms
Uncinia divaricata Boott; Uncinia compacta R.Br. var. divaricata (Boott) Hook.f.; Uncinia clarkii Petrie; Uncinia compacta R.Br. var. petriei C.b. Clarke; Uncinia compacta R.Br. var. clarkei (Petrie) Kük.; Uncinia divaricata Boott var. petriei (C.B.Clarke) Hamlin
Taxonomic notes
Carex edura is extremely variable and would repay further critical taxonomic study.
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
October–November
Fruiting
November–May
Propagation technique
Very easy from divisions of whole plants and from seed. Does best when planted in full sun in a fertile, free draining but moist soil. Excellent in pots.
Wetland plant indicator status rating
Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland). If you have suggestions for the Wetland Indicator Status Rating, please contact: [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]
FAC: Facultative
Commonly occurs as either a hydrophyte or non-hydrophyte (non-wetlands).
Other information
Etymology
carex: Latin name for a species of sedge, now applied to the whole group.
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
CAREDR
Chromosome number
2n = 88
Previous conservation statuses
2017 | Not Threatened
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Moore LB, Edgar E. 1970. Flora of New Zealand, Volume II. Indigenous Tracheophyta: Monocotyledones except Gramineae. Government Printer, Wellington, NZ. 354 p.
Attribution
Description adapted from Moore and Edgar (1970). Fact sheet prepared by Peter J. de Lange 17 August 2006.
Some of this factsheet information is derived from Flora of New Zealand Online and is used under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand licence.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Carex edura Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/carex-edura/ (Date website was queried)