Carex pterocarpa
Common names
sedge
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Sedges
Detailed description
Short, squat, tufted, rather coarse-leaved sedge. Rhizome short, 2 mm diameter, woody, covered by fibrous leaf and leaf-sheath remnants. Culms 20–50 mm tall, much less than leaves in length, and almost hidden by leaf-sheaths, triquetrous, scabrid; basal sheaths grey-brown or chestnut. Leaves 20–60 × 1–3 mm, somewhat distichously arranged, channelled, coriaceous, margins and keel minutely though harshly scabrid, tapering to an ± acute apex; sheaths dull brown, membranous ± or equal lamina in length. Inflorescence an ovate, triangular, 7 × 7 mm, brownish head composed of 2–4 congested spikes, the lowermost sometimes subtended by a leaf-like bract. Spikes 4–6 mm long, male flowers at top of spike, rarely at base. Glumes ± equal utricle length, ovate, acute, membranous, midrib short, thick set, green, keel of lowermost glumes often rather scabrid. Utricles 3 × 2 mm, plano-convex, elliptic-ovoid, ± papillose, nerved, dark brown with pale brown conspicuous wings, margins strongly scabrid; beak narrow, 0.7–0.9 mm, crura bifid, oblique; stipe minute. Stigmas 2. Nut 1.5 mm, brown, biconvex, smooth, styles persistent.
Similar taxa
A singular and distinctive sedge, which is only distantly allied to C. kaloides Petrie, C. muelleri Petrie, and C. kirkii Petrie, and has a superficial similarity to reduced states of C. breviculmis R.Br. In the Flora of New Zealand, Vol. II it keys out closest to C. trachycarpa Cheeseman, a much taller and finer-leaved sedge, which it does not even remotely resemble. The alpine habitat, short squat tufted growth habit, rather short, coarsely harsh leaves, and large (for the size of the plant) finely papillose dark brown utricles separate it from most species except perhaps C. kirkii, which is a larger plant, with involute rather than channelled leaves. Reduced forms of C. breviculmis have a superficial similarity but can be distinguished by their distinctly pubescent, pale yellow-green utricles.
Distribution
Endemic. South Island, Old Man Range (South Canterbury), Central Otago (Dunstan, Rock & Pillar Range and other nearby ranges).
Habitat
An alpine species associated with open fellfield, cushion bog, and windswept, moist and stable rock or gravel pavements.
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 – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: RR, Sp
Threats
No apparent threats. A naturally uncommon species of mainly high elevation schist mountains.
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Synonyms
Carex thomsonii Petrie
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
November–January
Fruiting
November–August
Life cycle and dispersal
Winged utricles are dispersed by granivory and wind (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Difficult in warm, wet or humid climates. Best grown in a small pot, kept partially submerged in water. Prefers full sun and a high fertility, free-draining soil.
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.
CARPTE
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 – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: RR, Sp
2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: RR, Sp
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon
2004 | Range Restricted
Regional conservation statuses
The regional threat classification system leverages off the national assessments in the NZTCS, providing information relevant for the regional context. Otago conservation status information is sourced from the “Regional conservation status of indigenous vascular plants in Otago” Jarvie S et al. (2024) report.
Otago: 2024 | At Risk – Regionally Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: DPS, DPT, NR, NS, NStr, RR, Sp, St, TL
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.
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.