Carex lectissima
Common names
fine-leaved bastard grass, hook sedge
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Sedges
Detailed description
Slender, tufted, bright green plants. Culms 30–300 mm long, < 0.5 mm wide, glabrous; basal bracts red-brown with paler striations. Leaves 4–7 per culm, < mature culms, us. < 0.5 mm wide, deeply channelled or flat with a distinct groove, bright green, glabrous at the base, scabrid towards the long-tapering, finely acute apex. Spike 5–30 × 2–3 mm, female flowers c. 10 mostly distant, internodes 2–3 mm long (up to 4 mm long at base of spike). Glumes = or < utricles, deciduous, lanceolate, acute, membranous with green midrib. Utricles 3.5–5.0 × c. 1 mm, trigonous, light greenish brown, lateral nerves prominent, somewhat spreading when ripe, stipe and beak c. 1 mm long.
Similar taxa
Carex lectissima is distinguished from all other New Zealand Carex species with hooked utricles by the light-coloured striations on the red-brown basal sheaths, and from C. obtusifolia (Heenan) K.A.Ford by the trigonous upper part of the leaf and by the acute rather than obtuse leaf apex. It could be confused with Carex minor (Kük.) K.A.Ford from which it differs by its much narrower, filiform leaves.
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: North, South and Stewart Islands from Te Moehau south.
Habitat
Montane to subalpine (coastal in Fiordland). Usually in cloud forest where it grows on moss and liverwort covered ground, on peat and especially around soak holes, semi-permanent pools and on rotting logs.
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 filiformis Boott; Uncinia rupestris Raoul var. rupestris Kük.
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
October–November
Fruiting
November–March
Propagation technique
Easily grown from fresh seed and by division of established plants, though these may take a while to settle. Prefers moist soil in a a semi-shaded site. This sedge must never be allowed to dry out.
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.
CARLEC
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 lectissima Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/carex-lectissima/ (Date website was queried)