Cladium
Encyclopedia
Cladium is a genus of large sedges
, with a worldwide distribution in tropical and temperate regions. These are plants characterized by long, narrow (grass-like) leaves having sharp, often serrated (sawtooth-like) margins, and flower
ing stems 1–3 m tall bearing a much-branched inflorescence
.
The number of species it contains is disputed, with different authors accepting between two and 60 species as distinct.
C. jamaicense is common throughout the tropical Americas
, one typical and well-known area of extensive saw-grass growth is the Florida
Everglades
; sawgrass is the plant referred to by the descriptor, "River of Grass". Across the Everglades, C. jamaicense occurs in patches of dense growth surrounded by areas of very sparse growth. Because of the sharp, saw-like serrulations on the blades, dense beds of sawgrass can be dangerous to attempt to navigate through (the blades easily cut flesh). The dense sawgrass beds harbor little animal life, but in the Everglades
they are used as a habitat by American Alligator
s to build nests (Lodge, 1994). It is also considered to be indigenous to the Hawaiian Islands
, where it dominates a considerable portion of the largest marsh in Hawaii
, Kawai Nui Marsh
.
Sawgrass may be useful as a source for developing biofuel
(ethanol
), possibly replacing corn
as the cellulose
(the basis for developing ethanol) source of choice. Studies on switchgrass (a prairie
plant which should not be mistaken for sawgrass) demonstrate that, since it is such a laborless crop to grow, it yields 540% of the energy used to harvest, and process it into ethanol. It is also carbon neutral, absorbing about the same amount of greenhouse gases while it's growing as it emits when burned as fuel.
Cyperaceae
Cyperaceae are a family of monocotyledonous graminoid flowering plants known as sedges, which superficially resemble grasses or rushes. The family is large, with some 5,500 species described in about 109 genera. These species are widely distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group...
, with a worldwide distribution in tropical and temperate regions. These are plants characterized by long, narrow (grass-like) leaves having sharp, often serrated (sawtooth-like) margins, and flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
ing stems 1–3 m tall bearing a much-branched inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
.
The number of species it contains is disputed, with different authors accepting between two and 60 species as distinct.
C. jamaicense is common throughout the tropical Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
, one typical and well-known area of extensive saw-grass growth is the Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
Everglades
Everglades
The Everglades are subtropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large watershed. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimmee River, which discharges into the vast but shallow Lake Okeechobee...
; sawgrass is the plant referred to by the descriptor, "River of Grass". Across the Everglades, C. jamaicense occurs in patches of dense growth surrounded by areas of very sparse growth. Because of the sharp, saw-like serrulations on the blades, dense beds of sawgrass can be dangerous to attempt to navigate through (the blades easily cut flesh). The dense sawgrass beds harbor little animal life, but in the Everglades
Everglades
The Everglades are subtropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large watershed. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimmee River, which discharges into the vast but shallow Lake Okeechobee...
they are used as a habitat by American Alligator
American Alligator
The American alligator , sometimes referred to colloquially as a gator, is a reptile endemic only to the Southeastern United States. It is one of the two living species of alligator, in the genus Alligator, within the family Alligatoridae...
s to build nests (Lodge, 1994). It is also considered to be indigenous to the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
, where it dominates a considerable portion of the largest marsh in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, Kawai Nui Marsh
Kawai Nui Marsh
Kawai Nui Marsh is, at over , the largest wetlands in the Hawaiian Islands. The marsh is located near Kailua on the windward side of O'ahu and is owned by the State of Hawaii and the City & County of Honolulu...
.
Sawgrass may be useful as a source for developing biofuel
Biofuel
Biofuel is a type of fuel whose energy is derived from biological carbon fixation. Biofuels include fuels derived from biomass conversion, as well as solid biomass, liquid fuels and various biogases...
(ethanol
Ethanol fuel
Ethanol fuel is ethanol , the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. It is most often used as a motor fuel, mainly as a biofuel additive for gasoline. World ethanol production for transport fuel tripled between 2000 and 2007 from 17 billion to more than 52 billion litres...
), possibly replacing corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
as the cellulose
Cellulose
Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to over ten thousand β linked D-glucose units....
(the basis for developing ethanol) source of choice. Studies on switchgrass (a prairie
Prairie
Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
plant which should not be mistaken for sawgrass) demonstrate that, since it is such a laborless crop to grow, it yields 540% of the energy used to harvest, and process it into ethanol. It is also carbon neutral, absorbing about the same amount of greenhouse gases while it's growing as it emits when burned as fuel.
Selected species
- Cladium californicumCladium californicumCladium californicum is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common name California sawgrass. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico where it grows in moist areas in a number of habitat types, often in alkaline soils. This is a perennial herb...
(S.WatsonSereno WatsonSereno Watson was an American botanist.Graduating from Yale in 1847, he drifted through various occupations until, in California, he joined the Clarence King Expedition and eventually became its expedition botanist...
) O'Neill – California Sawgrass (Southwestern North AmericaNorth AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
); doubtfully distinct from C. jamaicense. - Cladium chinense (Eastern Asia); doubtfully distinct from C. mariscus.
- Cladium jamaicense (C. mariscus subsp. jamaicense) – Sawgrass (Warm temperate and tropical New WorldNew WorldThe New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
, except where replaced by C. californicum) - Cladium mariscoides – Smooth Sawgrass (Temperate North America)
- Cladium mariscusCladium mariscusCladium mariscus is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common name Saw-sedge or Sawtooth Sedge. It is native of temperate Europe and Asia where it grows in base-rich boggy areas and lakesides. It can be up to 2.5 metres tall, and has leaves with hard serrated edges....
– Great Fen-sedge, Saw-sedge (EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, AsiaAsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, AfricaAfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
) - Cladium nipponense (Eastern Asia); doubtfully distinct from C. mariscus.
- Cladium procerum – Leafy Twig-sedge (AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
)