{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}} {{Speciesbox |image = Empodisma minus.jpg |image_caption = |genus = Empodisma |species = minus |authority = (Hook.f.) L.A.S.Johnson & D.F.Cutler }}
'''''Empodisma minus''''',<ref>{{APNI | name =''Empodisma minus'' (Hook.f.) L.A.S.Johnson & D.F.Cutler | id = 12354 }}</ref> commonly known as '''(lesser) wire rush''' or '''spreading rope-rush''', is a perennial evergreen belonging to the southern-hemisphere family of monocotyledonous plants Restionaceae. The Latin name ''Empodisma minus'' translates to “tangle-foot” “small”.<ref name="Empodisma minus" /> ''E. minus'' is found from Queensland to South Australia, Tasmania and throughout New Zealand south of 38 '''°''' latitude, or the central north island.<ref name="Wagstaff">{{cite journal|last1=Wagstaff|first1=S. J.|last2=Clarkson|first2=B. R.|title=Systematics and ecology of the Australasian genus Empodisma (Restionaceae) and description of a new species from peatlands in northern New Zealand|journal=PhytoKeys|date=2012|issue=13|pages=39–79|doi=10.3897/phytokeys.13.3259|pmid=22787426|pmc=3391716 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Its current conservation status is “Least concern”.<ref>{{cite web|title=Empodisma minus (Hook.f.) L.A.S.Johnson & D.F.Cutler|url=http://bie.ala.org.au/species/http://id.biodiversity.org.au/node/apni/2908447|website=Atlas of Living Australia|access-date=19 March 2017}}</ref> In 2012, the new species ''Empodisma robustum'' was described in New Zealand, with what was previously described as ''E. minus'' from the lowland raised bogs of Waikato and Northland now being re-classified as ''E. robustum''.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Wagstaff|first1=Steven|last2=Clarkson|first2=Beverly|date=2012-07-03|title=Systematics and ecology of the Australasian genus Empodisma (Restionaceae) and description of a new species from peatlands in northern New Zealand|url=http://www.pensoft.net/journals/phytokeys/article/3259/abstract/systematics-and-ecology-of-the-australasian-genus-empodisma-restionaceae-and-description-of-a-new-species-from-peatlands|journal=PhytoKeys|issue=13|pages=39–79|doi=10.3897/phytokeys.13.3259|issn=1314-2003|pmc=3391716|pmid=22787426 |doi-access=free }}</ref> ''E. minus'' remains an important peatformer in the south of New Zealand and in high altitude peatlands.
==Description== The stems are 15–200 cm long, numerously branched, semi-terete and dark green to dark brown in colour.<ref name="Empodisma minus">{{cite web|title=Empodisma minus|url=http://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora_details.aspx?ID=2125|website=New Zealand Plant Conservation Network|access-date=19 March 2017}}</ref> The stem keeps upright when short, yet becomes procumbent when tall. The stem has 5.5–12 mm long sheaths that seemingly divide it to multiple segments. The sheaths are reduced leaves which keep close to the stem and have whitish axillary hairs. Spikelets, the primary inflorescence of the grass, are usually solitary and sessile in males and females, however, axillary in the males but in the upper axils in the females. The fruit of ''E. minus'' is a hard oval nut,<ref name="Empodisma minus" /> sessile and approximately 2 mm long.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Quirico|first1=A. L.|last2=Briggs|first2=B. G.|title=Empodisma minus (Hook.f.) L.A.S.Johnson & D.F.Cutler|url=http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Empodisma~minus|website=PlantNET|access-date=19 March 2017}}</ref> The plant has a robust rhizome with a diameter of about 8 mm and numerous roots that ascend horizontally.
''E. minus'' flowers from August until December, the flowers are yellow in colour. Fruit appears from November up to March.<ref name="Empodisma minus"/> thumb|center|upright=1.5|A close up of ''Empodisma minus'' showing its stem, sheaths (reduced leaves) and white axillary hairs
==Distribution and habitat== ''Empodisma minus'' is found most densely in the South-Eastern parts of Australia, also in Tasmania and only absent from Western Australia and the Northern Territory. The species is also present in New Zealand. In both regions it grows from coastal to alpine areas, preferring fens, bogs, heaths, swamps and stream margins.<ref name="Wagstaff"/> thumb|right|The distribution of ''Empodisma minus'' in Australia and New Zealand
==Ecology== The Restionaceae, which includes the family ''Empodisma'', withstands nutrient poor soils and seasonal drought.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Linder|first1=H. P.|last2=Rudall|first2=P. J.|title=Evolutionary History of Poales|journal=Annu. Rev. Ecol. Evol. Syst.|date=2005|volume=36|pages=107–124|doi=10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.36.102403.135635}}</ref> ''E. minus'' can also experience occasional fires which can be detrimental, yet the plant is able to resprout, although slowly.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Johnson|first1=P. N.|title=Vegetation recovery after fire on a southern New Zealand peatland|journal=New Zealand Journal of Botany|date=2001|volume=39|issue=2|pages=251–267|doi=10.1080/0028825X.2001.9512736|s2cid=84921502}}</ref>
In New Zealand, the species commonly grows in a thick carpet together with, for example, ''Leptospermum scoparium'' (heath shrub), ''Baumea teretifolia'' (sedge), ''Gleichenia dicarpa'' and ''Gleichenia microphylla'' (ferns) and ''Sphagnum cristatum'' (moss).<ref name="Wagstaff"/> ''Empodisma minus'' has been classified as the dominant species in the ombrotrophic mires of New Zealand, mainly due to its high peat-forming ability<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Agnew|first1=A. D. Q.|last2=Rapson|first2=G. L.|last3=Sykes|first3=M. T.|last4=Bastow Wilson|first4=J.|title=The Functional Ecology of Empodisma minus (Hook. f.) Johnson & Cutler in New Zealand Ombrotrophic Mires|journal=The New Phytologist|date=1993|volume=124|issue=4|pages=703–710|jstor=2557987|doi=10.1111/j.1469-8137.1993.tb03861.x|pmid=33874442 |doi-access=}}</ref> and could even be called an ecosystem engineer for fen-to-bog transitions.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hodges|first1=T. A.|last2=Rapson|first2=G. L.|title=Is Empodisma minus the ecosystem engineer of the FBT (fen–bog transition zone) in New Zealand?|journal=Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand|date=2010|volume=40|issue=3–4|pages=181–207|doi=10.1080/03036758.2010.503564|s2cid=128674758|doi-access=free}}</ref>
In Australia, ''Empodisma minus'' is associated with ''Richea continentis'' and ''Baeckea gunniana'' (shrubs), ''Gleichenia alpina'' (fern), ''Sphagnum cristatum'' (moss) and ''Astelia alpina'' (monocotyledonous herb).<ref name="Wagstaff"/> The dry seasons contribute to decomposition and limited peat formation, whereas the wet seasons boost the plant’s root growth and peat accumulation.<ref name="Wagstaff"/>
''Empodisma minus'' is also the host plant for the larvae of the endemic New Zealand species of moth ''Aponotoreas synclinalis''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Craw|first=R. C.|date=1986-01-01|title=Review of the genus Notoreas (sensu auctorum) (Lepidoptera: Geometridae: Larentiinae)|journal=New Zealand Journal of Zoology|volume=13|issue=1|pages=131–140|doi=10.1080/03014223.1986.10422654|issn=0301-4223|doi-access=free}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
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Category:Flora of New South Wales Category:Flora of Tasmania Category:Flora of Queensland Category:Flora of New Zealand Category:Pakihi