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Uncinia
Also called Sedge, Sedges, True Sedges, Sedge Species
Uncinia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cyperaceae, known as hook-sedges in Australia and as hook grasses or bastard grasses in New Zealand. The genus is characterised by the presence of a long hook formed by an extension of the rachilla, which is used to attach the fruit to passing animals (epizoochory), especially birds, and it is this feature which gives the genus its name, from the Latin uncinus, meaning a hook or barb.
Uncinia has a Gondwanan distribution, with most species found Australia, New Zealand and South America, as far north as Mexico and Jamaica. Of the 50–60 species, 30 are endemic to New Zealand, 6 are endemic to the east coast of Australia, and 4 are endemic to the Juan Fernández Islands. Smaller numbers of species are also found in New Guinea, Borneo, the Philippines, Hawaii, Tristan da Cunha, Kerguelen, Île Amsterdam, Île Saint-Paul, and the Prince Edward Islands, although none are known from the mainland of Africa. This distribution suggests that the genus had an origin in Antarctica.
Carex abitibiana · Indian Valley sedge · Abruptbeak sedge · Thicket sedge · Small Dusky Sedge · Seoul Sedge · Acid Loving Sedge · Carex acocksii · Slender Tufted-sedge · Carex acutata · Lesser pond sedge · Circumpolar sedge
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Uncinia by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
