Gahnia
Encyclopedia
Gahnia is a genus
of sedge
s found in Australia
and a number of Pacific Islands
. The common name is due to the toothed margins. It often forms tussock
s.
an island of Lanai
and it was federally listed as an endangered species
of the United States. In 2010, however, research suggested that the Lanai plants are actually Gahnia lacera introduced
from New Zealand
in the early 20th century.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of sedge
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...
s found in Australia
Australia
Australia , 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...
and a number of Pacific Islands
Pacific Islands
The Pacific Islands comprise 20,000 to 30,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean. The islands are also sometimes collectively called Oceania, although Oceania is sometimes defined as also including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago....
. The common name is due to the toothed margins. It often forms tussock
Tussock
Tussock most often refers to a small hillock of grassy, or grass-like plant growth, but may also refer to Plants and ecology, Insects.- Plants and ecology :*Tussock *New Zealand tussock grasslands*Serrated Tussock...
s.
Some species
- Gahnia asperaGahnia asperaGahnia aspera known as the Rough Saw-sedge is a tussock forming perennial plant, often seen in moist situations. The long strap like leaves grow to 80 cm long....
-- Rough Saw-sedge or Round Saw-sedge - Gahnia beecheyi -- forest sawsedge
- Gahnia filumGahnia filumGahnia filum is a tussock-forming perennial in the family Cyperaceae, endemic to Australia. It grows to between 60 and 110 cm in height....
-- chaffy sawsedge - Gahnia gahniiformis -- GaudichaudCharles Gaudichaud-BeaupréCharles Gaudichaud-Beaupré was a French botanist.He was born in Angoulême, the son of J-J. Gaudichaud and Rose Gaudichaud. He studied pharmacology at Cognac and Angoulême. He also studied chemistry and herbology.His greatest claim to fame was serving as botanist on a circumglobal expedition from...
's sawsedge - Gahnia grandisGahnia grandisGahnia grandis is a tussock forming perennial plant found in southeastern Australia and Tasmania.Originally described by botanist Jacques Labillardière as Scleria grandis in 1800, it was placed in its current genus by S. T. Blake in 1969....
- Gahnia lanaiensis -- Lanaʻi sawsedge
- Gahnia melanocarpaGahnia melanocarpaGahnia melanocarpa known as the Black Fruit Saw-sedge is a tussock forming perennial plant in eastern Australia. Often found in the wetter forests or in rainforest margins, common on the coast but also seen in the tablelands....
-- Black-fruit Saw-sedge - Gahnia radula -- Thatch Saw-sedge
- Gahnia siberiana -- Red-fruited Saw Sedge
- Gahnia trifidaGahnia trifidaGahnia trifida is a tussock-forming perennial in the family Cyperaceae, endemic to southern Australia.A herb, sedge or grass-like, with very rough leaf margins and underside. The species grows in dense tussocks, 1.5 metres and 1 metre across, with leaves over 1 metre long and drooping. It is found...
-- Coast Saw-sedge - Gahnia vitiensis -- FijiFijiFiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
an sawsedge
Conservation
The species Gahnia lanaiensis has been known as a rare endemic plant from the HawaiiHawaii
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...
an island of Lanai
Lanai
Lānai or Lanai is the sixth-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is also known as the Pineapple Island because of its past as an island-wide pineapple plantation. The only town is Lānai City, a small settlement....
and it was federally listed as an endangered species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
of the United States. In 2010, however, research suggested that the Lanai plants are actually Gahnia lacera introduced
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
from New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
in the early 20th century.