Uncinia Last updated July 29, 2025 Genus of grass-like plants
Uncinia flowering plants in the family Cyperaceae , known as hook-sedges in Australia [ 3] and as hook grasses or bastard grasses in New Zealand. [ 4] The genus is characterised by the presence of a long hook formed by an extension of the rachilla , [ 5] which is used to attach the fruit to passing animals (epizoochory ), especially birds, [ 6] and it is this feature which gives the genus its name, from the Latin uncinus , meaning a hook or barb. [ 7]
Distribution Uncinia has a Gondwanan distribution, [ 5] with most species found Australia , New Zealand and South America , [ 3] as far north as Mexico and Jamaica . [ 10] Of the 50–60 species, 30 are endemic to New Zealand, [ 11] 6 are endemic to the east coast of Australia, [ 3] and 4 are endemic to the Juan Fernández Islands . [ 12] 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 . [ 10] This distribution suggests that the genus had an origin in Antarctica . [ 13]
It contains the following species:
Uncinia affinis (C. B. Clarke) Hamlin – New Zealand Uncinia andina G. A. Wheeler – Argentina Uncinia angustifolia Hamlin – New Zealand Uncinia araucana G. A. Wheeler – Chile Uncinia aspericaulis G. A. Wheeler – Juan Fernández Islands Uncinia astonii Hamlin – New Zealand Uncinia aucklandica Hamlin – New Zealand Uncinia austroamericana G. A. Wheeler – Tierra del Fuego Uncinia banksii Boott – New Zealand Uncinia bracteosa Phil. – Chile Uncinia brevicaulis Thouars – Hawaii , South America , Falkland Islands , Tristan da Cunha , Juan Fernández Islands Uncinia caespitosa Boott – New Zealand Uncinia chilensis G. A. Wheeler – Chile Uncinia clavata (Kük.) Hamlin – New Zealand Uncinia compacta R. Br. – Australia Uncinia costata Kük. – Juan Fernández Islands Uncinia dawsonii Hamlin – New Caledonia Uncinia debilior F. Muell. – Lord Howe Island Uncinia dikei Nelmes – Marion Island Uncinia distans Col. ex Boott – New Zealand Uncinia divaricata Boott – New Zealand Uncinia douglasii Boott – Juan Fernández Islands Uncinia drucei Hamlin – New Zealand Uncinia ecuadorensis G. A. Wheeler & Goetgh. – Ecuador Uncinia egmontiana Hamlin – New Zealand Uncinia elegans (Kük.) Hamlin – New Zealand, Tasmania Uncinia erinacea Pers. – South America Uncinia ferruginea Boott – New Zealand Uncinia filiformis Boott – New Zealand Uncinia flaccida S. T. Blake – Victoria (Australia ) Uncinia fuscovaginata Kük. – New Zealand Uncinia gracilenta Hamlin – New Zealand Uncinia hamata (Sw.) Urb. – Neotropics Uncinia hookeri Boott – New Zealand's subantarctic islands , Macquarie Island Uncinia involuta Hamlin – New Zealand Uncinia kingii R.Br. ex Boott – Chile Uncinia koyamai Gómez-Laur. – Costa Rica Uncinia lacustris G. A. Wheeler – Ecuador Uncinia laxiflora Petrie – New Zealand Uncinia lechleriana Steud. – Magellan Region Uncinia leptostachya Raoul – New Zealand Uncinia loliacea Phil. – Chile Uncinia longifructus (Kük.) Petrie – New Zealand Uncinia macloviformis G. A. Wheeler – Juan Fernández Islands Uncinia macrophylla Steud. – Chile Uncinia macrotricha Franch. – Patagonia Uncinia meridensis Steyerm. – Venezuela Uncinia multifaria Nees ex Boott – Chile Uncinia multifolia Boeckeler – Colombia Uncinia negeri Kük. – Chile Uncinia nemoralis K. L. Wilson – Australia Uncinia nervosa Boott – New Zealand, Tasmania Uncinia obtusifolia Boott – New Zealand Uncinia ohwiana Koyama – New Guinea Uncinia paludosa G. A. Wheeler & Goetgh. – Ecuador Uncinia perplexa Boott – Surville Cliffs (New Zealand) Uncinia phleoides (Cav.) Pers. – Juan Fernández Islands , South America Uncinia purpurata Petrie – New Zealand Uncinia rapaensis H. St. John – Tubuai Uncinia rubra Boott – New Zealand Uncinia rupestris Raoul – New Zealand Uncinia scabra Boott – New Zealand Uncinia scabriuscula G. A. Wheeler – Argentina , Chile Uncinia sclerophylla Nelmes – New Guinea Uncinia silvestris Hamlin – New Zealand Uncinia sinclairii Boott – New Zealand Uncinia smithii Phil. – South Georgia , Falkland Islands Uncinia strictissima Petrie – New Zealand Uncinia subsacculata G. A. Wheeler & Goetgh. – Ecuador Uncinia subtrigona Nelmes – Borneo , New Guinea Uncinia sulcata K. L. Wilson – Australia Uncinia tenella R. Br. – Australia Uncinia tenuifolia G. A. Wheeler & Goetgh. – Ecuador Uncinia tenuis Poeppig ex Kunth – Juan Fernández Islands , South America Uncinia uncinata (L. f.) Kük. – New Zealand, Hawaii Uncinia viridis (C. B. Clarke) Edgar – New Zealand Uncinia zotovii Hamlin – New ZealandThis page is based on this
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