Carex capillacea

{{Short description|Species of grass-like plant}}

{{use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}

{{Speciesbox

|image = Carex capillacea - Palmengarten Frankfurt - DSC01923.JPG

|image_caption = Carex capillacea

|image2 = Carex capillacea Boott (AM AK2477-1).jpg

|image2_caption = Isolectotype: AM AK2477-1

|status = NV

|status_system = NZTCS

|status_ref =

|genus = Carex

|species = capillacea

|authority = Boott

|synonyms =

|synonyms_ref =

|range_map = Carex capillacea DistMapNZ.png

|range_map_caption = Occurrence data from AVH

}}

File:Carex capillacea N310 w1150.jpg

Carex capillacea, common name yellowleaf sedge in Tasmania, is a species of sedge (in the Cyperaceae family) found in Assam, the far east of Russia, New Guinea, south east Australia, New Zealand, Malesia, China, Japan and India.

Description

Carex capillacea is densely tufted. The culms (up to {{convert|30|cm|abbr=on}} long by {{convert|0.5|mm|abbr=on}}) are erect and slender. The leaves are usually shorter than culms, and the sheath is green to pale brown. The inflorescence is erect and has one spike. The male portion of the spike is above the female portion. The style is divided into three parts.{{Cite web|url=https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/flora/taxon/ffa6ea54-ce72-4c1c-9eed-d379343540b0|title=Carex capillacea, Flora of Victoria|last=|first=|date=|website=vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170124215715/https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/flora/taxon/ffa6ea54-ce72-4c1c-9eed-d379343540b0 |archive-date=24 January 2017 |access-date=2019-11-15}}

It flowers from October to December, fruits from October to July, and the nuts are dispersed by granivory and wind.{{cite journal|last1=Thorsen|

first1=M.J.|last2=Dickinson|first2=K.J.M.|last3=Seddon|first3=P.J.

|title=Seed dispersal systems in the New Zealand flora|journal=Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics|volume=11|issue=4|year=2009|

pages=285–309|issn=1433-8319|doi=10.1016/j.ppees.2009.06.001|

bibcode=2009PPEES..11..285T}}

Distribution and habitat

In New Zealand it is found on the North Island on the Waimarino Plain, and the Moawhango and in the South Island from Nelson and Marlborough south to the lakes of Te Anau, Manapouri, Hauroko and east to Lumsden. Its preferred habitat is bogs, seepages, and the margins of ponds and pools.

Conservation status

Assessments under the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS), declared it to be "At Risk – Naturally Uncommon" (NU) in 2013, and in 2017 to be "Threatened – Nationally Vulnerable" (NV). In Tasmania, it is declared "Threatened".

Taxonomy and naming

Carex capillacea was first described in 1858 by Francis Boott from specimens collected in the temperate eastern Himalayas at {{convert|10000|to|12000|ft|m}} by Joseph Dalton Hooker in Sikkim and by William Griffith in Bhutan.

The specific epithet, capillacea, derives from the Latin capillus "hair" or "thread", and thus describes the plant as being thread-like.

References

{{Reflist|refs=

Boott, F. (1858) [https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/58566461 Illustrations of the Genus Carex 1: 44], [https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/58566710 t. 110]

{{Cite web|url=http://nzpcn.org.nz/flora_details.aspx?ID=231|title=Carex capillacea {{!}} New Zealand Plant Conservation Network|website=nzpcn.org.nz|access-date=2019-11-16}}

de Lange, P.J. et al.{{cite web|url=https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/science-and-technical/nztcs22entire.pdf|title= Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2017|date=2017|page=9}}

{{Cite web|url=http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:299036-1|title=Carex capillacea Boott {{!}} Plants of the World Online {{!}} Kew Science|website=Plants of the World Online|access-date=2019-11-16}}

[https://www.threatenedspecieslink.tas.gov.au/Pages/Carex-capillacea.aspx Carex capillacea] Threatened species link, Government of Tasmania. Retrieved 16 November 2019.

}}