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]

Carex erebus
Plate LI (artist: Fitch)[1]

Naturally Uncommon (NZ TCS)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this 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
Uncinia riparia R.Br. var. hookeri (Boott) Kük.

Distribution

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It is found on Macquarie Island (Australia), and in New Zealand on Stewart Island, Antipodes Island, Auckland Islands and Campbell Island.[4]

Taxonomy

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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

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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]

References

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  1. ^ a b Hooker, J.D. (1844). "Uncinia hookeri". The Botany of the Antarctic Voyage of H.M. Discovery Ships Erebus and Terror in the Years 1839-1843 :under the Command of Captain Sir James Clark Ross. 1 (5): 91. Plate LI
  2. ^ a b de Lange, P.J.; Rolfe, J.R.; Barkla, J.W.; Courtney, S.P.; Champion, P.D.; Perrie, L.R.; Beadel, S.M.; Ford, K.A.; Breitwieser, I.; Schönberger, I.; Hindmarsh-Walls, R. (2018-05-01). "Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2017" (PDF). New Zealand Threat Classification Series. 22: 41. OCLC 1041649797.
  3. ^ a b "Carex erebus K.A.Ford | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Global Carex Group (2015). "Making Carex monophyletic (Cyperaceae, tribe Cariceae): a new broader circumscription". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 179: 1–42. doi:10.1111/boj.12298. hdl:2027.42/113175.
  5. ^ a b c d "Carex erebus | New Zealand Plant Conservation Network". nzpcn.org.nz. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
  6. ^ Kunth, C.S. (1837). Enumeratio plantarum. Vol. 2. p. 490.
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