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Empodisma gracillimum (F.Muell.) L.A.S.Johnson & D.F.Cutler

Reference
Kew Bull. 28:383 (1974)
Conservation Code
Not threatened
Naturalised Status
Native to Western Australia
Name Status
Current

Rhizomatous, semi-scandent, tufted, tangled perennial, herb (sedge-like), 0.2-1.2 m high. Fl. brown, Jul to Dec or Jan to Feb. Grey/black sand, peat. Winter-wet depressions, creek beds.

Grazyna Paczkowska, Descriptive Catalogue, 9 August 1994

Scientific Description

Rhizomes spreading, hairy. Basal sheath glabrous, dull, striate. Culms terete, internal structure (at base of culm) hollow, glabrous, not striate, not marbled, not fasciculate. Culm 440-660 mm long. Sheaths (including blade) dull, not striate, glabrous, margins not translucent. Apex glabrous. Dioecious (with separate male and female plants). Male and female inflorescences similar, posture (male inflorescences only) More or less erect, Culms unbranched below the inflorescence. Male spikelet 3-5 mm long. Subtending bract glabrous, Outer bract 4-6 mm long, margins firm and opaque, Apex acuminate to attenuate. Perianth glabrous. 2.5-3 mm long. Inner bract hairy, margins firm and opaque, Apex acuminate to attenuate. Filament 1.8-2.5 mm long. Anther 0.5-0.7 mm long. Female spikelet 4-4.5 mm long. Subtending bract hairy, margins firm and opaque, Apex acuminate to attenuate. Outer bract 2-4.5 mm long. Perianth glabrous. 2.5-3 mm long. Inner bracts 2-3.3 mm long, glabrous, margins firm and opaque, Apex acuminate to attenuate. Style three (or three-branched). 2-2.3 mm long. Fruit indehiscent (nut). Flowering Time January, February, July, August, September, October, November or December. Botanical Province South-West, IBRA Bioregions Swan Coastal Plain, Jarrah Forest, Warren or Esperance.

C. Hollister and K.R. Thiele, 1 September 2017

Distribution

IBRA Regions
Esperance Plains, Jarrah Forest, Swan Coastal Plain, Warren.
IBRA Subregions
Fitzgerald, Perth, Southern Jarrah Forest, Warren.
IMCRA Regions
WA South Coast.
Local Government Areas (LGAs)
Albany, Augusta Margaret River, Bayswater, Bunbury, Busselton, Denmark, Manjimup, Nannup, Plantagenet.