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Scientific Name
Gahnia trifida
Family Name
CYPERACEAE
Common Name
Coast Saw-sedge
Status
Height
1.5m
Flowers
Many clustered flowers in a dense, bristly flowerhead up to 85cm long.
Fruit
Nut
Form
Densely clustered plant with persistent remains of old leaf sheaths at the base.
Municipalities
Break O'Day; Brighton; Burnie; Central Coast; Clarence; Devonport; Dorset; Flinders Island; Glamorgan-Spring Bay; Huon Valley; King Island; Kingborough; Latrobe; Northern Midlands; Sorell; Southern Midlands; Tasman; West Coast
Communities
Habitat Notes
Coastal; on margins of marshes and mudflats, on cliffs and among boulders.
Site Tolerance
Frost Tolerance
Soil Tolerance
General Notes
Germinates readily from seed. Division of Gahnia spp. tends to have little success. A host plant of the Chrysotricha Skipper butterfly (Hesperilla chrysotricha), also known as the goldenhaired sedge-skipper. The butterflies twist the leaves togetherin a spiral to form a shelter. Suitable below powerlines.
Propagation Details
Propagation Calendar
Flowering Months
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Seed Collecting Months
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Sowing Months
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Cutting Months
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Seed Information
Seed Collection
Nut 2.5mm long and blackish at maturity. Most of the seed will remain held in the seedhead for at least a month. Cut the seedheads with secateurs and allow to dry, then vigorously thresh against a hard surface to extract seed.
Seed Treatment Method
Seed Storage Life
Viable Seeds Per Gram
Seed Treatment Notes
Germination Time
Suitable for Direct Seeding
Cuttings
Expected Time to Take Root
Expected Time to Plant Out
Propagation by Division
N.B. Transplant only from nearby to avoid disease.
Cutting Notes
Copyright 2000-2009, Understorey Network Incorporated. Updated 2024-12-11
Database development and website design by
Andrew Smith