Oreobolus pectinatus
Oreobolus pectinatus (common names - Comb sedge, cushion sedge, flat-leaved comb sedge)[4] is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family that is native to the subantarctic islands, and to the North and South Islands of New Zealand.[3] The specific epithet derives from the Latin, pectin/pectinis, ("comb-shaped/like a comb"), and refers to the leaves.[4][5]
Oreobolus pectinatus | |
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Plate XLIX[1] | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Clade: | Commelinids |
Order: | Poales |
Family: | Cyperaceae |
Genus: | Oreobolus |
Species: | O. pectinatus |
Binomial name | |
Oreobolus pectinatus | |
Synonyms[3] | |
Oreobolus pumilio var. pectinatus (Hook.f.) C.B.Clarke ex Cheeseman Oreobolus serrulata Colenso |
Description
Oreobolus pectinatus is a perennial sedge which forms dense cushions growing from 10 to 100 mm high. The stems are densely packed, much branched at base, leafy. Median nerve and two lateral nerves of the leaves are visible at widest part of lamina, while on the adaxial only the median nerve is prominent. Both surfaces of the lamina have abundant stomata. The sheath is not lobed at the apex and has 5 to 7 nerves. The spikelets are usually solitary and the mature peduncle is usually longer than the leaves. There are usually 3 glumes (sometimes 4), with the occasional fourth glume being smaller. The fruit, a nut, is initially colourless, but matures to a red-brown, almost black color. It is greater than 1 mm long and less than 1 mm diameter.[4]
It flowers from October to December, and fruits from November to April.[4]
Distribution
The plant is found on New Zealand's Antipodean Islands, and the North South Islands of New Zealand.[3]
Habitat
It is a coastal to alpine species (found up to 1500 m above sea level), occurring at sea level only in the southern South Island, and on Stewart, Auckland and Campbell Islands. It is common in cushion bogs, alpine seepages and mires.[4]
Conservation status
In both 2009 and 2012 it was deemed to be "Not Threatened" under the New Zealand Threat Classification System,[4] and this classification was reaffirmed in 2018.[6]
References
- Hooker, J.D. (1844). "Oreobolus pectinatus". The Botany of the Antarctic Voyage of H.M. Discovery Ships Erebus and Terror in the Years 1839-1843 :under the Command of Captain Sir James Clark Ross. 1 (5): 87. Plate XLIX
- "Oreobolus pectinatus". Australian Plant Name Index, IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
- "Oreobolus pectinatus Hook.f. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
- "Oreobolus pectinatus | New Zealand Plant Conservation Network". nzpcn.org.nz. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
- Backer, C.A. (1936) Verklarend woordenboek der wetenschappelijke namen van de in Nederland en Nederlandsch-Indië in het wild groeiende en in tuinen en parken gekweekte varens en hoogere planten (Edition Nicoline van der Sijs). p. 1306 (Explanatory dictionary of the scientific names of .. plants grown in the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies...)
- Lange, Peter J. de; Rolfe, Jeremy R.; Barkla, John W.; Courtney, Shannel P.; Champion, Paul D.; Perrie, Leon R.; Beadel, Sarah M.; Ford, Kerry A.; Breitwieser, Ilse; Schönberger, Ines; Hindmarsh-Walls, Rowan (2018). "Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2017" (PDF). New Zealand Threat Classification Series. 22: 71. OCLC 1041649797.