The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Carex trifida

Etymology

Carex: Latin name for a species of sedge, now applied to the whole group.
trifida: divided into three

Common Name(s)

Mutton-bird Sedge, Tataki

Current Conservation Status

2012 - Not Threatened

Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2012
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2012 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS). This report includes a statistical summary and brief notes on changes since 2009 and replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Authors: Peter J. de Lange, Jeremy R. Rolfe, Paul D. Champion, Shannel P. Courtney, Peter B. Heenan, John W. Barkla, Ewen K. Cameron, David A. Norton and Rodney A. Hitchmough. File size: 792KB

Previous Conservation Status

2009 - Not Threatened
2004 - Not Threatened

Authority

Carex trifida Cav.

Family

Cyperaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

CARTRI

Structural Class

Sedges

Synonyms

Carex rekohu Petrie

Distribution

Indigenous. New Zealand, southern South Island, Stephens, Stewart, Chatham, Snares, Antipodes, Auckland, Campbell Islands. Also present on Macquarie Island, in southern South America and the Falkland Islands.

Habitat

Strictly coastal where it often associated with seal haul outs and sea bird nesting grounds, especially - as the common name suggests - muttonbirds (Puffinus spp.). Usually in open sites, very rarely found in canopy gaps within coastal forest.

Features

Extremely robust, compact, light green to glaucous sedge, producing tussocks up to 1 m diameter. Culms 0.15–1.00 m tall, 2–4 mm diameter, trigonous with angles rounded, glabrous; basal sheaths cream, grey, or yellow-brown. Leaves often overtopping the inflorescence, 6–15 mm wide, light green to dark glaucous green, double-folded, with keel not very much thickened, rather soft and spreading, margins slightly scabrid with rather distant teeth; sheath only slightly broader than lamina, paler green. Spikes 6–15, brown, very sturdy, 35–11 x 5–15 mm; upper 2–4 spikes male, occasionally with a few female flowers intermingled, ± approximate, ± sessile; lower spikes female, the lowest often compound, on stout erect peduncles; bracts leaf-like, > inflorescence. Glumes > utricles, linear-oblong, or lanceolate, noticeably emarginate, membranous, chestnut-brown, the pale greenish brown midrib produced to a very long hispid awn. Utricles 4.5–6.0 x c.2.0 mm., subtrigonous, oblong-obovoid, turgid, distinctly nerved, straw-coloured to light brown tinged; abruptly narrowed to a rather shallowly bifid beak c.1 mm long, margins and orifice occasionally slightly scabrid; much contracted to a very pale brown stipe c.1 mm long. Stigmas 3. Nut c. 2 mm. long, trigonous, oblong-obovoid, dark brown.

Similar Taxa

Carex trifida has no obvious close relatives in New Zealand, and of the few it frequently associates with, none, except the Chatham Island endemic C. ventosa Petrie, have any gross morphological similarity. From C. ventosa, C. trifida differs by its distinctly emarginate rather than acute or truncate, chestnut brown rather than mostly colourless, with red-brown striae glumes. Although C. ventosa is often weakly glaucous it rarely is the dark blue-green colour usually seen in C. trifida. Carex ventosa is normally a forest plant and C. trifida prefers open coastal sites, rarely however, do their distributions overlap, and there is some evidence they form hybrids.

Flowering

August - December

Fruiting

November - June

Propagation Technique

Easily grown from fresh seed and by the division of established plants. Often naturalises in gardens. Prefers full sun and a damp, well manured, slightly acidic soil but will grow in almost any conditions except deep shade. A beautiful and popular sedge, widely grown in New Zealand.

Threats

Not Threatened - but very uncommon in the northern part of its range

Chromosome No.

2n = 60

Endemic Taxon

No

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

Life Cycle and Dispersal

Nuts surrounded by inflated utricles are dispersed by granivory and wind (Thorsen et al., 2009).

This page last updated on 18 Jun 2015