Lepidosperma laterale
Common names
sword sedge
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Sedges
Detailed description
Coarsely tufted perennial sedge arising from a stout woody rootstock. Culms 0.5–2.0 m tall, 4–7 mm wide, rigidly coriaceous, laterally flattened with sharp, minutely scabrid margins to more or less convex above. Leaves 3–5 mm wide, similar to culms but usually much shorter, equitant at the base, margins extremely minutely scabrid, apices acuminate. Panicle 100–400 mm long, greyish brown when mature, rather narrow, rigidly erect; branches mostly distant, usually simple, erect; lowest bract with a stiff lamina 20–60 mm long, upper bracts shorter, distinctly mucronate, brown to grey-brown. Spikelets 6 mm long, distant on the lower branches, fascicled above, 1–4-flowered, only the uppermost flower fertile. Glumes 5–7, ovate, acuminate. pubescent towards the apex,the lowest 2–3 empty. Hypogynous scales 6, fused at base, each terminated by a fine ciliate seta, this up to ½ length of nut. Nut 2.5–3.5 × 1.5–2.0 mm, ovoid, more or less trigonous, the angles thickened, surface at first wrinkled, becoming smooth at maturity, brown; persistent style-base hardly distinguishable from nut, glabrous, brown, with a small black mucro.
Similar taxa
Could be confused with Machaerina complanata (Bergg.) Koyama and Machaerina sinclairii (Hook.f.) Koyama, and other sedges that have large, flat culms and leaves. However both these species have much wider culms or leaves (up to 30 mm in Machaerina) and denser flowered, usually pendulous, often distinctly fluffy inflorescences, and mostly grow in permanently damp situations (such as seepages) or in peat bogs.
Distribution
Indigenous. Australian and New Zealand. In New Zealand confined to the North Island where it common from Te Paki south to about the King Country and the Bay of Plenty.
Habitat
Coastal to lowland, where it usually grows on poorly drained clay soils in gumland scrub, in regenerating forest on steep hill slopes. Sometimes in damp sand such in dune swales and slacks or on sand podzols. Often grows in shrublands dominated by Kunzea Rchb. and Leptospermum J.R.Forst. et G.Forst..
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 | Not Threatened | Qualifiers: SO
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Synonyms
None
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
September–December
Fruiting
October–March (long persistent, usually present all year round)
Life cycle and dispersal
Scaly nuts are dispersed by water, wind and possibly ants (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Difficult to cultivate. Seed difficult to germinate. Plants resent root disturbance and usually die if transplanted. However, considerable success has been achieved growing plants and germinating seed in untreated saw dust. Nevertheless this is an attractive species to grown in a sunny situation, preferring poorly drained clay soils.
Wetland plant indicator status rating
Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland). If you have suggestions for the Wetland Indicator Status Rating, please contact: [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]
FACU: Facultative Upland
Occasionally is a hydrophyte but usually occurs in uplands (non-wetlands).
Other information
Where To Buy
Plants are occasionally available from specialist nurseries.
Etymology
lepidosperma: Scale seed
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.
LEPLAT
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 | Not Threatened | Qualifiers: SO
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.
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.