Carex longebrachiata
Common name
Australian sedge
Family
Cyperaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Exotic
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.
CARLON
Conservation status
Not applicable
Habitat
Terrestrial. Grasslands
Features
Robust, harsh, dense tussocks 30-90 cm high. New leaves grow from the inside of leaf sheath. Leaves 3-5 mm wide, strongly keeled, Y-shaped in cross-section, appearing yellowish towards ends. Seeding stem a drooping panicle; with green to pale brown seeds hanging at the ends of long, thin, cotton-like filaments.
Similar taxa
Can be distinguished from other species of Carex in NZ by its tillering and distinctive flower/seed head. Flowers are grouped in catkin like spikes and hang at the end of long thin nodding stalks.
Life cycle
Perennial. Reproduces by tillers and seed. The plant seeds prolifically, with longevity of viable seed being between 3-5 years. The seed is dispersed by gravity and livestock. The seed is relatively heavy and most falls within 30cm from the edge of the plants canopy.b
Year naturalised
1906
Origin
Australia
Reason for introduction
Accidental
Tolerances
Tolerant to low soil fertility and drought.
Etymology
carex: Latin name for a species of sedge, now applied to the whole group.