Carex erebus
Species of grass-like plant
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Carex erebus (common name - Hookers bastard grass)[5] is a member of the sedge family and is found on the Antarctic Islands of Australia and New Zealand.[3][5]
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| Carex erebus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Plate LI (artist: Fitch)[1] | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Cyperaceae |
| Genus: | Carex |
| Species: | C. erebus |
| Binomial name | |
| Carex erebus | |
| Synonyms[5][4] | |
|
Uncinia hookeri Boott | |
Distribution
It is found on Macquarie Island (Australia), and in New Zealand on Stewart Island, Antipodes Island, Auckland Islands and Campbell Island.[4]
Taxonomy
Carex erebus was first described in 1844 by Francis Boott as Uncinia hookeri in Joseph Hooker's Flora Antarctica.[4][1] In 2015, in order to make the genus Carex monophyletic, the genus, Uncinia, was sunk into Carex.[4] The name, Carex hookeri had already been published in 1837 for another species.[6] Hence a new species epithet was required: erebus was chosen, being the name of the ship (HMS Erebus) on which Hooker sailed on the Antarctic expedition of 1839-1843 when this species was first collected on the Auckland Islands.[4]
Conservation status
In both 2009 and 2012 it was deemed to be "At Risk - Naturally Uncommon" under the New Zealand Threat Classification System,[5] and this New Zealand classification was reaffirmed in 2018 (due to its restricted range) but with a further comment that it is secure overseas.[2]
