Family: Cyperaceae
Plant: A tufted sedge up to 60cm high.
Flowers: Red-brown to dark brown spikelets 6-8mm long in globular clusters in a narrow, erect, branched inflorescence, 10-35cm long on stout stems (culms).
Flowering: Irregularly throughout the year.
Fruit: Shiny, yellow to dark red-brown nut, 4-6mm long with a distinct point.
Leaves: In basal tufts, strap like, 65cm long and longer than the flower stems. The leaves have sharp serrated margins and are scabrous on the back. The branches are subtended by leafy bracts.
Habitat: Common on creek banks and in swampy areas in rainforest and wet and dry sclerophyll forest.
Features: Found in drier areas. Mature fruit dark red-brown. Leaves much longer that the flowering stems. Leaves scabrous on back.
Name:
Gahnia After the Swedish botanist Dr. Henry Gahn
Aspera From Latin = rough (referring to the spikelet plumes)
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Type |
Sedge/Rush |
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Flowers |
Form |
Irregular, Globular, Cluster, |
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Colour(s) |
Red, Rust |
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Petal/Sepal No. |
- |
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Flowering Month |
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, |
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8, 9, 10, 11, 12 |
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Fruit |
Type |
Other |
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Colour |
Yellow, Red, Brown |
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Other Features |
Hard |
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Leaves |
Arrangement |
Basal, Tufted |
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Type |
Simple |
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Shape |
Linear, Strap-like |
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Length |
Very long |
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Margins |
Toothed/Serrated |
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Attachment |
Unstalked |
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Other Features |
Rough |
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Bark |
- |
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Habitat |
Rainforest, Wet sclerophyll forest, |
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Dry sclerophyll forest |
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