Botanists uncover a hidden new sedge species in China
Native Plants
A plant that looked like one species for decades just turned out to be a different one entirely, a reminder that the diversity in the ferns and sedges at your feet during a woodland walk is still being written.
Researchers found a sedge plant in southern China that looks a lot like a known species but is actually something new. By checking its DNA and studying tiny details like the surface pattern of its seed coat and the shape of its tip, they proved it's a distinct species, now named Carex ensiformis. It belongs to an ancient, diverse group of sedges found across East and Southeast Asia.
Key Findings
DNA analysis of three chloroplast markers and two nuclear markers confirmed four individuals of Carex ensiformis form a distinct, well-supported genetic lineage
The new species differs from its closest relative, C. damiaoshanensis, through slightly wavy cell wall patterns on the seed surface and a notably shorter beak at the seed tip
Carex ensiformis also has more inflorescence branches and spikes but smaller utricles, seeds, and glumes than its lookalike relative
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists identified a brand-new species of sedge plant in southern China, confirming it's genetically and physically distinct from its closest lookalike through DNA testing and detailed examination of its seeds and flower parts.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Carex ensiformis (C. subg. Siderosticta), a new species from southern China based on morphological and molecular evidence
Abstract Background Carex subg. Siderosticta is one of the six subgenera recognized in the recently revised infrageneric classification of Carex based on phylogenetic studies. It represents the ear...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
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The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family contains around 5,500 described species in about 90 genera, the largest with over 2,000 species being the "true sedges" or Carex.