Uncinia


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, which is used to attach the fruit to passing animals, especially birds, and it is this feature which gives the genus its name, from the Latin uncinus, meaning a hook or barb.

Systematics

Uncinia is a "satellite genus" of the very large genus Carex, alongside other satellites such as Cymophyllus, Kobresia, Schoenoxiphium, Vesicarex. Uncinia seems to form a monophyletic group, with the most distinct species being U. kingii, a species which has sometimes been placed in the genus Carex. Similarly, Carex microglochin has sometimes been included in Uncinia, as U. microglochin.

Distribution

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.
It contains the following species: