''Schoenus'' is a predominately austral genus of

sedges 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 ...

, commonly known as bogrushes, or veldrushes in South Africa. Species of this genus occur mainly in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

(some 44 species),

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

(some 70 species) and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

. Others are found in scattered locations worldwide, from

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

(2 species) to

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

(1 species) and the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

. Three species occur in the peatlands of southern South America, including '' S. antarcticus'' which is found in

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla G ...

, where it forms a component of hyperhumid

Magellanic moorland 250px, Magellanic moorland at Herschel Island, Cabo de Hornos National Park. The Magellanic moorland or Magellanic tundra ( es, Tundra magallánica) is an ecoregion on the Patagonian archipelagos south of latitude 48° S. It is characterized by h ...

. Taxonomic attention to the South African taxa, starting 2017, revealed a wealth of species. 24 species were transferred from '' Tetraria'' and '' Epischoenus'' into ''Schoenus'', and several new species were described. '' S. inconspicuus'', discovered on the outskirts of

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, consists of only a few specimens.

''Schoenus'' species

file:Flora Antarctica Plate CXLVII.jpg, Illustration of '' S. antarcticus'', native to

, the Plants of the World Online indicates there are 157 species of ''Schoenus''; however, this does not take into account several taxonomic changes made since 2020 (see sections below). Bogrushes Several of the species that are currently on the list provided by Plants of the World Online database as of November 2022 have recently been transferred to other genera based on molecular and morphological evidence: *'' Ammothryon grandiflorum'' (Nees ex Lehm.) R.L.Barrett, K.L.Wilson & J.J.Bruhl = synonym of '' Schoenus grandiflorus'' (Nees ex Lehm.) F.Muell. *'' Chaetospora curvifolia'' R.Br. = synonym of '' Schoenus curvifolius'' (R.Br.) Roem. & Schult. *'' Chaetospora subbulbosa'' (Benth.) K.L.Wilson & R.L.Barrett = synonym of '' Schoenus subbulbosus'' Benth. *'' Chaetospora turbinata'' R.Br. = synonym of '' Schoenus turbinatus'' (R.Br.) Roem. & Schult.

Southern African ''Schoenus''

The genus ''Schoenus'' includes 44 species from the southern Africa ''Schoenus'' clade, which are divided into three main groups. Veldrushes ''Schoenus cuspidatus'' group '' Schoenus graminifolius'' ''Epischoenus'' group Sselinae habit-NH-1

''Schoenus compar - Schoenus pictus'' group S megacarpus-inflorescence-Heiderland

Unplaced species Synonyms (yet to be incorporated in Plants of the World Online database) *'' Schoenus adnatus'' (Levyns) T.L.Elliott & Muasya = synonym of '' Schoenus tenuellus'' T.L.Elliott & Muasya

References

Cyperaceae genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Cyperaceae-stub