Carex healyi
Common names
harsh-leaved bastard grass, hook sedge
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Sedges
Detailed description
Rather harsh-textured, rigidly erect, densely tufted, yellow-green, olive-green or dull bluish green plants. Culms 250–900 mm tall, usually < 1 mm diameter, erect, strongly scabrid towards the top; basal sheaths dark brown. Leaves 3–6 per culm, > or = culm, 2–3 mm wide, narrow-linear, moderately scabrid on margins and on upper surface along midvein, tips subacute in shorter leaves, more tapering and filiform in longer leaves. Spikes 30–100 long, bracteate, lowermost glume often broad and leaf-like, much > spike, or the midrib greatly extended forming a long filiform awn, female flowers c. 10, lax, internodes to 8 mm long at base of spike, 2–4 mm long above. Glumes < or = utricles, persistent, obtuse or lowermost subacute, membranous, very light brown, the midrib of lower glumes often scabrid. Utricles 4.5–6.0 × c. 1 mm, plano-convex or subtrigonous, grey-brown, scabrid on both surfaces towards the apex, narrowed above to a beak 1 mm long and scarcely narrowed below to a greenish stipe 1.0–1.5 mm long.
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand. North Island from Great Barrier Island and the Kaipara south (most common in the east). South Island (Nelson and thence east of the main divide to about Dunedin).
Habitat
Coastal to subalpine. Usually in dense lowland to montane forest. However, also locally common in dune forest and scrub in the northern part of its range.
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 leptostachya Raoul var. scabra (Boott) Hook.f.; Uncinia disticha Col.; Uncinia scabra Boott
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
October–November
Fruiting
November–March–(June)
Propagation technique
Easily grown from fresh seed and by division of established plants. Can be grown in a wide variety of soils from free-draining to permanently moist - but resents water logging. Best in semi-shade.
Other information
Where To Buy
Not commercially available.
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.
CARHEA
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
Fact sheet prepared by P.J. de Lange (31 September 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 healyi Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/carex-healyi/ (Date website was queried)