Centrolepis

Scientific name

Centrolepis Labill.

Family

Restoniaceae

Similar genera

Trithuria

Native distribution

southeast Asia, Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea and New Zealand

Species cultivated

one to three species cultivated, but not commonly available

Centrolepis banksii (R.Br.) Roem. & Schult.

C. monogyna (Hook.f.) Benth.

C. strigosa (R.Br.) Roem. & Schult.

Adventive distribution

information not available

Weed status

not weedy

Habit

small, tufted, grass-like herb; amphibiousamphibious:
(adj) of a plant able to live on land or in water
to aquatic, attached

Brief description

Annual or perennialperennial:
(adj) (of a plant) having a life cycle of more than two years
. Stem simple and compact. Roots numerous, hardly branched. Leaves typically basalbasal:
(adj) at or pertaining to the base, or point of attachment
, glabrousglabrous:
(adj) without hairs or scales
, sometimes purplish; sheath membranous, marginmargin:
(n) edge; rim
hyalinehyaline:
(adj) thin and translucent or transparent
; ligulateligulate:
(adj) possessing or with a ligule
, or not; leaf bladeblade:
(n) (syn. lamina) the flat, expanded part of a leaf, frond, or petal (excluding, e.g., the petiole)
linear to subulatesubulate:
(adj) awl-shaped; tapering from base to apex
; apexapex:
(n) the point farthest from the point of attachment; the tip (often pointed)
acuteacute:
(adj) tapering to a sharp, pointed apex with more or less straight sides; broader than acuminate; forming an angle of less than 90 degrees
; base straight; venationvenation:
(n) the arrangement of veins in a leaf
midrib only. Inflorescenceinflorescence:
(n) the arrangement of flowers on the floral axis
a terminalterminal:
(adj) at the apex
, cymosecymose:
(adj) in the form of a cyme; bearing cymes
headhead:
(n) inflorescence consisting of small closely packed stalkless flowers or florets arising at the same level on a flattened axis; of several types, including: discoid (composed entirely of disk flowers) and radiate (composed of central disk flowers and marginal ray flowers)
; scapescape:
(n) a leafless flowering stalk arising from ground level in acaulescent plants
tereteterete:
(adj) +/- circular in cross section
, glabrousglabrous:
(adj) without hairs or scales
; headhead:
(n) inflorescence consisting of small closely packed stalkless flowers or florets arising at the same level on a flattened axis; of several types, including: discoid (composed entirely of disk flowers) and radiate (composed of central disk flowers and marginal ray flowers)
ovoidovoid:
(adj) egg-shaped in three dimensions
to cylindric; primary bracts 2, enclosing the headhead:
(n) inflorescence consisting of small closely packed stalkless flowers or florets arising at the same level on a flattened axis; of several types, including: discoid (composed entirely of disk flowers) and radiate (composed of central disk flowers and marginal ray flowers)
, ± oppositeopposite:
(adj) (of leaves) two leaves per node; in pairs on opposite sides of an axis
, rounded on the back, sheathing, glabrousglabrous:
(adj) without hairs or scales
, or papillate to hispidhispid:
(adj) covered with firm, stiff hairs
; secondary bracts 0 or 2 per flower, oppositeopposite:
(adj) (of leaves) two leaves per node; in pairs on opposite sides of an axis
, obtuseobtuse:
(adj) with a blunt or rounded apex and sides coming together at an angle of more than 90 degrees
, hyalinehyaline:
(adj) thin and translucent or transparent
. Flowers small, typically bisexualbisexual:
(adj) having both male and female sexual reproductive structures on one individual or in one flower
, or some lacking the stamenstamen:
(n) the male reproductive organ in a flower, consisting of a pollen-bearing anther and a filament
; perianthperianth:
(n) collective term for the calyx and corolla of a flower; also used for floral whorl(s) in which the calyx and corolla cannot be resolved; any of the leaves or bracts surrounding the sex organs of bryophytes
absent.

Natural habitat

marginmargin:
(n) edge; rim
of lakes, small tarns, pools, streams, creeks, claypans, coastal swamps to peat bogs

Additional comments

A genus of about 25 species, many of which are amphibiousamphibious:
(adj) of a plant able to live on land or in water
. Centrolepis muscoides (Hook.f.) Hieron. grows as a perennialperennial:
(adj) (of a plant) having a life cycle of more than two years
in submergedsubmerged:
(adj) (syn. submersed) under water; submerged below the water surface
areas through the winter season. C. minima Kirk is aquatic or semi-aquatic, typically partially buried along lake margins. Centrolepis drummondiana is sometimes incorrectly refered to as Trithuria 'blood vomit'.