''Schoenus inconspicuus'' is a 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 ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to south-western areas of the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

Province of

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 ...

Description

''Schoenus inconspicuus'' has long, linear-lanceolate spikelets compared to other species of southern African '' Schoenus''. Among the southern African Schoenus, '' Schoenus ligulatus'' also has relatively long, linear-lanceolate spikelets; however, the spikelets of ''S. inconspicuus'' are longer (> 6.6 mm) compared to the shorter spikelets of ''S. ligulatus'', which are often less than 5.7 mm. Furthermore, the spikelet

glumes In botany, a glume is a bract (leaf-like structure) below a spikelet in the inflorescence (flower cluster) of grasses (Poaceae) or the flowers of sedges (Cyperaceae). There are two other types of bracts in the spikelets of grasses: the lemma and ...

of ''S. inconspicuus'' are more paper-like, appearing silvery-white when young compared to those of ''S. ligulatus''. These paper-like glumes then deteriorate and shred with age in ''S. inconspicuus''. The lower spikelet glumes are also relatively long in length (often over half to 3/4 of the length of the spikelet) compared to those of ''S. ligulatus'', which tend to be less than half of the length of the spikelet. The glume mucros of ''S. ligulatus'' are more prominent compared to the poorly-formed or lacking glume mucros of ''S. inconspicuus''. Habitat preferences differs notably between the two species, with ''Schoenus inconspicuus'' generally found on dry, acid sandy sites, while ''S. ligulatus'' is more common on wet sites.

Taxonomy

''Schoenus inconspicuus'' is a species in 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 ...

, tribe Schoeneae, which is a clade that includes genera such as ''

Gahnia ''Gahnia'' (sawsedge, saw-sedge) is a genus of sedges native to China, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand and a number of Pacific Islands. The common name is due to the toothed margins. It often forms tussocks. Species Accept ...

'', ''

Lepidosperma ''Lepidosperma'' is a genus of flowering plant of the family Cyperaceae. Most of the species are endemic to Australia, with others native to southern China, southeast Asia, New Guinea, New Caledonia and New Zealand. Species Species include: Abb ...

'', ''

Oreobolus ''Oreobolus'' 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 ...

'', '' Costularia'' and ''

Tetraria ''Tetraria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the sedge family, Cyperaceae, native to Tanzania, South Africa, Borneo, Australia and New Zealand. The type species is '' Tetraria compar'' (L.) P.Beauv. Recent molecular work has shown that ''Tetr ...

''. Based on morphological evidence, ''Schoenus inconspicuus'' is closely related to other southern African ''Schoenus'' species, specifically, species in the ''S. cuspidatus'' and allies group. Southern African ''Schoenus'' were once classified as ''Tetraria'', but we currently know that the two groups are evolutionary distinct based on molecular and morphological differences. To ensure that this group of sedges is

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

(i.e. the genus only has closely related species), several species of ''Epischoenus'' and the southern African ''

'' were transferred into ''Schoenus''. Two key differences between the two genera are that the southern African ''Schoenus'' do not have reticulate sheaths at the bases of the flowering stems and they lack the stem leaves that can be observed in ''Tetraria''.

Distribution and habitat

''Schoenus inconspicuus'' has been reported recently from only a couple of locations: one on the

Cape Peninsula The Cape Peninsula ( af, Kaapse Skiereiland) is a generally mountainous peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean at the south-western extremity of the African continent. At the southern end of the peninsula are Cape Point and the Cape of ...

and a second in the

Overberg __NOTOC__ Overberg is a region in South Africa to the east of Cape Town beyond the Hottentots-Holland mountains. It lies along the Western Cape Province's south coast between the Cape Peninsula and the region known as the Garden Route in the e ...

region of the Western Cape Province. The preferred habitat of this species is rare acid sand flats, with an elevation range of between 14 and 250 m.

Gallery

S inconspicuus habit-1.jpg, Growth form S inconspicuus infloresceces-1.jpg, Flowering head

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q106822499 inconspicuus Southern African Schoenus Endemic flora of the Cape Provinces