| Uncinia | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Monocots |
| (unranked): | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Cyperaceae |
| Tribe: | Cariceae |
| Genus: | Uncinia Pers. |
| Type species | |
| Uncinia australis Pers.[1] |
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Uncinia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cyperaceae, known as hook-sedges in Australia[2] and as hook grasses or bastard grasses in New Zealand.[3] The genus is characterised by the presence of a long hook formed by an extension of the rachilla,[4] which is used to attach the fruit to passing animals (epizoochory), especially birds,[5] and it is this feature which gives the genus its name, from the Latin uncinus, meaning a hook or barb.[6]
Uncinia is a "satellite genus" of the very large genus Carex, alongside other satellites such as Cymophyllus, Kobresia, Schoenoxiphium, Vesicarex.[7] 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.[4] Similarly, Carex microglochin has sometimes been included in Uncinia, as U. microglochin.[8]
Uncinia has a Gondwanan distribution,[4] with most species found Australia, New Zealand and South America,[2] as far north as Mexico and Jamaica.[9] Of the 50–60 species, 30 are endemic to New Zealand,[10] 6 are endemic to the east coast of Australia,[2] and 4 are endemic to the Juan Fernández Islands.[11] 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.[9] This distribution suggests that the genus had an origin in Antarctica.[12]
It contains the following species:
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