Carex egmontiana
Common names
bastard grass, hook sedge
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Sedges
Detailed description
Densely caespitose, dull red or reddish-green (rarely green) plants, 250–400 mm tall. Culms c. 300 × c. 0.5 mm, glabrous, subtrigonous or almost terete; basal sheaths straw-coloured or light brown. Leaves 4–6 per culm, culms, 1.0–1.5 mm wide, moderately scabrid on margins and upper surface. Spikes 3.5–120 × c. 3 mm, female flowers c. 10–20, rather distant, internodes to 12 mm long at base of spike, c. 3 mm long above. Glumes = or >, or rarely slightly < utricles, persistent, ovate-lanceolate, acute, membranous, red or green with pale hyaline margins. Utricles 4.5–6.0 × c. 1.0 mm, subtrigonous, elliptic-lanceolate, striated or scarcely nerved, grey-green or reddish grey, contracted below to a stipe usually slightly > 1.5 mm long, narrowed above to a beak slightly < 1.5 mm long.
Similar taxa
From other Carices with hooked utricles and persistent glumes, with the exceptions of C. silvestris (Hamlin) K.A.Ford and C. strictissima (Petrie) K.A.Ford, C. egmontiana can be distinguished from by having glabrous, semi-terete culms. Carex silvestris differs by its bright green rather than usually dull red or reddish green leaves, few-nerved, smaller utricles (< 4.5 mm cf. > 5 mm long) which are green rather than grey-green or reddish grey.
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: North Island (Mt Egmont), South and Stewart Islands—apparently absent from Fiordland.
Habitat
Coastal to alpine. In coastal turf, tussock grassland, alpine mires, bogs and shrubland overlying peat.
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.
- 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
Synonyms
Uncinia egmontiana Hamlin, Uncinia sivestris var. squamata Hamlin
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
October–November
Fruiting
November–August
Propagation technique
Easily grown from fresh seed and by division of established plants. Prefers a permanently moist, peaty soil but will grow in most substrates. Except in cool climates this species is best planted in semi-shade.
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]
FACW: Facultative Wetland
Usually is a hydrophyte but occasionally found in uplands (non-wetlands).
Other information
Etymology
carex: Latin name for a species of sedge, now applied to the whole group.
egmontiana: Of Mount Egmont
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.
CAREGM
Chromosome number
2n = 88
Previous conservation statuses
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.
- 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.
2017 | Not Threatened
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Regional conservation statuses
The regional threat classification system leverages off the national assessments in the NZTCS, providing information relevant for the regional context. Otago conservation status information is sourced from the “Regional conservation status of indigenous vascular plants in Otago” Jarvie S et al. (2024) report.
Otago: 2024 | Regionally 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
Fact sheet prepared fro NZPCN by Peter J. de Lange 17 August 2006. Description adapted from Moore and Edgar (1970).
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 egmontiana Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/carex-egmontiana/ (Date website was queried)