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Bogrush with smut fungus

Schoenus apogon

Photo by Mark Ridgway
Published on Project Noah
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Field Notes

Description:

These small grassy plants were populating a shallow depression in an ephemeral wetland. About 200mm tall maximum they had shiny black flower heads and occasional black sections on the leaves or stems as well producing a striking and attractive effect. Soil was judged as very poor, coarse sandy. Zero shade.

Habitat:

In a newly developed nature reserve next to an ocean/bay beach.

Notes:

Thanks Vinny. <br>
A tufted perennial about 5-25 cm high. Flowers from Winter to January. <br>
The other part of the mystery is the short black sections randomly appearing on the stems. It seems they are caused by a smut fungus, Shivasia solida. http://collections.daff.qld.gov.au/web/key/smutfungi/Media/Html/shivasi… <br> http://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:lsid:biodiversity.org.au:apni.taxon:7…

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (3)

Mark, that should be the name for a kid's animated TV series. Bogrush with smut fungus? That's hilarious :D
Great call Vinny. I also stumbled upon the rest of the story - a smut fungus. Thanks again.
These little sedgy things are tricky but Schoenus apogon might be worth a look

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