Family Index

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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