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Sedge family
Cyperaceae
カヤツリグサ科
A large family including sedges (Carex), galingales (Cyperus), bulrushes, and papyrus. About 5,000 species are known, widely distributed in wetlands, waterside habitats, and grasslands worldwide. Similar to grasses but distinguished by triangular stems without nodes. About 600 species are native to Japan.
Key Characteristics
- ●Stem cross-section is triangular without nodes ('sedges have edges')
- ●Leaf sheath margins are closed (fused)
- ●Spikelets consist of a scale and a single flower
- ●Wind-pollinated; perianth is filamentous or scale-like
- ●Especially abundant in wetlands and waterside habitats
Morphological Traits
A family may include species with different trait values — multiple values indicate the range within the family.
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Parallel
Leaf margin
Entire
Growth form
Herb
Evergreen/Deciduous
Deciduous
Leaf dissection
Undivided
Petal count
6 petals
Petal fusion
Free / Fused
Ovary position
Superior
Plant sex
Dioecious / Hermaphrodite / Monoecious
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Monocots > Poales > Cyperaceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous to Paleogene (about 80–70 million years ago)
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Establishment of the morphological innovation of triangular stems and closed leaf sheaths
- ・Ecological radiation from wetlands to alpine zones
Plants in Sedge family on this site
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