Specimen image via iDigBio · BY-NC
Uncinia
Sign in to saveUncinia 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 rachilla, which is used to attach the fruit to passing animals (epizoochory), especially birds, and it is this feature which gives the genus its name, from the Latin uncinus, meaning a hook or barb.
Species
Genus
- PhylumAnnelida
- ClassPolychaeta
- OrderSpionida
- FamilySpionidae
via
Museum specimens
- Specimen records
- 158
- With media
- 65
- Family
- Cyperaceae
- Collections
- INECOL, CAS, F, NHMUK, UCR, NY
- Recorded in
- Mexico, Costa Rica, Saint Helena, Chile, Colombia, Jamaica, Australia, Bolivia
~5 min read
Encyclopedic overview
3 sectionsContents
- Systematics
- Distribution
- References
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 rachilla, which is used to attach the fruit to passing animals (epizoochory), 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.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Uncinia” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.