Carex fascicularis
Common names
sedge
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Sedges
Detailed description
Stout, tufted, somewhat soft, pale green to yellow-green sedge. Culms 0.6–1.1 m tall, 1.5–2.5 mm wide, triquetrous, very finely scabrid; basal sheaths grey. Leaves rather > culms, 4–13 mm wide, double-folded, with prominent cross-veinlets on lamina and sheath. Spikes 4–6; uppermost 1–(2) spikes male; remaining spikes female, 20–70 × 8–11 mm, usually slightly < male spikes, ± distant, pedunculate, pendulous. Glumes (excluding awn) c. ½ length of utricle, lanceolate, light brown, margins of upper half fimbriate or lacerate, midrib produced to a scabrid awn ± = glume in length. Utricles 4.0–6.0 × 1.0–1.5 mm, subtrigonous or inflated and biconvex, ovoid, distinctly nerved, light green, strongly reflexed; beak 1.5–2.0 mm long, entirely glabrous; stipe c. 1 mm long, abruptly narrowed. Stigmas 3. Nut 1.5–2.0 mm long, trigonous with thickened angles, obovoid, pale yellow-brown.
Similar taxa
Carex fascicularis is easily recognised by its stout culms; pale green to yellow green wide leaves; prominent cross-veinlets on sheaths and leaves; initially pendent spikelets, very short glumes with lacerate or fimbriate margins; and by the submembranous, strongly nerved, glabrous, spreading utricles. There are only two other carices in New Zealand with cross-veinlets, the indigenous C. maorica Hamlin and naturalised C. lurida Wahlenberg. Carex maorica differs from C. fascicularis by the female spikes mostly sessile rather than pendent, and normally clustered at one level near the base of the male spike rather than mostly distant to ± approximate (but then never clustered at one level round base of male spike). Carex lurida is a much larger sedge than either species (up to 2.5 m tall) and has utricles 6–9 × 2–4 rather than 4.0–6.0 × 1.0–1.5 mm.
Distribution
Indigenous. New Zealand: North Island (abundant in the north to about the Waikato then scarce to about Mokau), South Island (known only from Rarangi). Also Australia, New Guinea and Indonesia.
Habitat
Coastal to lowland in freshwater wetlands, under willow in gully systems, along river and stream banks, lake margins, and in damp seepages, pond margins and clearings within forest. Preferring fertile to mid-fertile wetlands.
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 | At Risk – Declining | Qualifiers: Sp, DPS, DPT, SO
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Synonyms
Carex forsteri Wahl. var. fascicularis (Boott) Hook.f.; Carex pseudocyperus L. var. Fascicularis (Boott) Boott
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
October–December
Fruiting
November–May
Life cycle and dispersal
Nuts surrounded by inflated utricles are dispersed by granivory and wind (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Easily grown from fresh seed and by the division of established plants. Although a wetland species C. fascicularis will grow well in most soils and moisture regimes. Does best in full sun.
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]
OBL: Obligate Wetland
Almost always is a hydrophyte, rarely in uplands (non-wetlands).
Other information
Etymology
carex: Latin name for a species of sedge, now applied to the whole group.
Manaaki Whenua Online Interactive Key
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.
CARFAS
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 | At Risk – Declining | Qualifiers: DP, SO, Sp
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Regional conservation statuses
Auckland: 2025 | Regionally At Risk – Regionally Relict | Qualifiers: DE, DPR, DPS, DPT, PF, RR, SO?, Sp
The regional threat classification system leverages off the national assessments in the NZTCS, providing information relevant for the regional context. Auckland conservation status information is sourced from the “Conservation status of vascular plant species in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland” Simpkins E et al. (2025) report.
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.
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. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2009.06.001.
Attribution
Fact Sheet prepared by P.J. de Lange (10 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.