Carex elingamita
Common names
Three Kings sedge
Synonyms
None
Family
Cyperaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Native
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Sedges
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.
CARELI
Chromosome number
2n = c.60
Current conservation status
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2017 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes a statistical summary and brief notes on changes since 2012 and replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants.
Please note, threat classifications are often suggested by authors when publications fall between NZTCS assessment periods – an interim threat classification status has not been assessed by the NZTCS panel.
- Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2017 . 2018. Peter J. de Lange, Jeremy R. Rolfe, John W. Barkla, Shannel P. Courtney, Paul D. Champion, Leon R. Perrie, Sarah M. Beadel, Kerry A. Ford, Ilse Breitwieser, Ines Schönberger, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Peter B. Heenan and Kate Ladley. Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2017 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: CD, IE
Previous conservation statuses
2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: CD, IE
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: RC, IE
2004 | Range Restricted
Distribution
.Endemic. Three Kings Island group where it is present on Great (Manawa Tawhi), North East, South West, West Islands and at least Hinemoa Rock in the Princes group. Naturalised in Auckland City
Habitat
A species of shaded sites under dense forest, often around petrel burrowed ground, boulder falls and rubble.
Detailed description
Rather leafy, light to dark green, tussock forming sedge of shaded forested slopes and boulder field. Culms up to 1 m × 1.5 mm, trigonous, smooth; basal bracts light brown. Leaves < culms, 5–10 mm wide, double folded, margins finely scabrid. Inflorescence of 10–12 compound or simple green to grey-green spikes, 60–80 × 5 mm, the lower 2–4 more or less distant on long erect peduncles; terminal spike male, remaining spikes female below with upper ⅓ or more male. Glumes equal or < utricles, linear-lanceolate, membranous (somewhat chaffy when old) with red-brown flecks, truncate or almost emarginated, midrib prolonged as a rigid, strongly scabrid awn. Utricles 4–4.5 mm long, trigonous, elliptic-lanceolate, strongly nerved, erect or slightly recurved, membranous, grey-green, margins glabrous, beak slightly > 1.5 mm long, margins glabrous, crura scabrid not oblique. Stigmas 3. Nut 2 mm long, red-brown.
Similar taxa
As the only wide-leaved sedge present on the Three Kings field recognition is unlikely to be difficult. However as it is now commonly cultivated and has naturalised in at least Auckland City, distinction from the allied C. kermadecensis Petrie, C. forsteri Wahl. and C. spinirostris Colenso is necessary. From C. kermadecensis, C. elingamita is best distinguished by the lowermost spikes being male in the upper ⅓ or more of their length (rather than entirely female), utricles 4–4.5 mm, rather than 3.5–4 mm long, and by the red-brown rather than dark brown nut. From C. forsteri, C. elingamita differs by its much smaller stature, and by the crura which is never oblique. Carex spinirostris though similar in stature differs by the distinctly pendulous, red-purple rather than suberect to erect, green to grey-green spikes, and by the utricles which are pale grey to bright red in their upper third, rather than uniformly grey green.
Flowering
September–December
Fruiting
October–May
Life cycle
Nuts surrounded by inflated utricles are dispersed by granivory and wind (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Easy from fresh seed, Can become invasive. Prefers a semi-shaded site but will tolerate full sun. Can be grown in a wide range of soils. Frost and cold sensitive.
Threats
Not threatened and very common but listed because it occupies a small geographic range.
Etymology
carex: Latin name for a species of sedge, now applied to the whole group.
Attribution
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.
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.
Thorsen MJ, Dickinson KJM, Seddon PJ. 2009. Seed dispersal systems in the New Zealand flora. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 11: 285–309.