Gahnia lanigera

Gahnia lanigera, also known as the black grass saw-sedge, desert saw-sedge or little saw-sedge , is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family that is found in southern Australia. The specific epithet lanigera means 'woolly'.

Gahnia lanigera
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Cyperaceae
Genus: Gahnia
Species:
G. lanigera
Binomial name
Gahnia lanigera
(R.Br.) Benth., 1878
Synonyms
  • Cladium lanigerum R. Br., 1810

Description

The plant is a rhizomatous, tufted perennial sedge growing up to 45 cm high and 2 m wide, with stiff, narrow, sharp-pointed leaves. The flowers are brown.[1][2] It is a favoured food plant of Antipodia atralba, the black and white skipper butterfly.[3]

Distribution and habitat

The species occurs in arid parts of southern Western Australia, South Australia, north-western Victoria and western New South Wales where it is found on sandy soils in mallee woodland and heathland, as well as on clayey or granitic loams and coastal dunes.[1][2]

References

  1. "Gahnia lanigera (R.Br.) Benth. Desert Saw-sedge". VicFlora. Royal Botanic Gardens Foundation Victoria. 12 Jan 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  2. Grazyna Paczkowska (18 November 1993). "Gahnia lanigera (R.Br.) Benth. Little Sedge". FloraBase. Western Australian Herbarium. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  3. "black grass saw-sedge". Butterfly Conservation SA Inc. 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
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