Carex subviridis
Common names
hook sedge, bastard grass, hook grass
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Sedges
Detailed description
Rather gracile, very light- to dark green, tussock-forming, plants. Culms 250–600 × 0.5 mm, slightly scabrid above; basal sheaths light brown or reddish, occasionally enclosing the culm for more than half its length. Leaves 4–7 per culm, culms, 1.5–3.0 mm wide, sharply scabrid on margins, slightly scabrid on upper surface towards tip. Spikes 40–140 mm long, often bracteate, lowermost glumes occasionally leaf-like and much > spike, male portion relatively long, female flowers c. 10–20, ± distant, internodes 6–12 mm long below, 2 mm long above. Glumes < utricles, deciduous, acute, lower 2–3 acuminate and often produced to a scabrid awn, membranous, green. Utricles 5.5–9.0 × c. 1.0 mm., plano-convex, narrow-oblong, light green or light brown, distinctly nerved, beak 1.5–2.0 mm long, narrow, with scabrid margins and occasionally a few teeth on the abaxial surface, stipe 1.5–2.0 mm long, narrow.
Similar taxa
Carex hamlinii K.A.Ford, another fine-leaved hook sedge has a superficial resemblance to C. subviridis. Both species have a similar gracile growth habit, and rather fine light-green leaves and lax inflorescences. However, Carex hamlinii is a more southerly species of higher elevation forest, which is easily distinguished from C. subviridis by its glabrous rather than scabrid utricles. In the northern part of its range Carex subviridis may grow with another fine-leaved species Carex banksiana K.A.Ford, from which it differs by its greater stature, and scabrid rather than glabrous utricles.
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand. North and South Islands. Often sparsely distributed but locally common in the Bay of Plenty, Waikato, Auckland and Northland.
Habitat
Coastal to montane. Usually in forest, especially alluvial and riparian forest, or in dune forest. Also common in karst country around sink holes, tomo and within dolines..
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 distans Col. ex Boott; Uncinia nelmesii Hamlin
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
October–December
Fruiting
November–June
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. However, once established will tolerate a wide range of conditions except waterlogging.
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.
CARSUV
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 subviridis Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/carex-subviridis/ (Date website was queried)