''Morelotia'' is a genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s belonging to the family

Cyperaceae The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large, with some 5,500 known species described in about 90 genera, the largest being the "true sedges" genus ''Carex'' w ...

. It contains six species of

sedge The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large, with some 5,500 known species described in about 90 genera, the largest being the "true sedges" genus ''Carex'' wit ...

s native to New Zealand, the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...

Tubuai Islands The Austral Islands (french: Îles Australes, officially ''Archipel des Australes;'' ty, Tuha'a Pae) are the southernmost group of islands in French Polynesia, an overseas country of the French Republic in the South Pacific. Geographically, ...

, and

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. The genus name of ''Morelotia'' is in honour of Simon Morelot (1751–1809), a French

apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses '' materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and North Ameri ...

and also member and professor at the college of pharmacy. It was first described and published in Voy. Uranie on page 416 in 1829.

Known species

According to Kew: *'' Morelotia affinis'' – New Zealand *'' Morelotia australiensis'' – Southwest Australia *'' Morelotia gahniiformis'' – Hawaiian Islands *'' Morelotia involuta'' – Tubuai Islands *'' Morelotia microcarpa'' – Southwest Australia *'' Morelotia octandra'' – Southwest Australia

References

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q9035127 Cyperaceae Cyperaceae genera Plants described in 1829 Flora of New Zealand Flora of Hawaii