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

edit

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

edit

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

edit
  1. ^ a b "Gahnia lanigera (R.Br.) Benth. Desert Saw-sedge". VicFlora. Royal Botanic Gardens Foundation Victoria. 12 Jan 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  2. ^ a b 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.