Carex kobomugi

Carex kobomugi is a low-growing sedge that extends along the ground with thick rhizomes. It produces flowering stems up to tall and in diameter, with male and female flowers generally produced on different plants (dioecious). The leaves are wide, and longer than the stems, and the lowest bracts are similar to the leaves. Male inflorescences are long and around wide, whereas the female inflorescences are slightly larger, long and around wide. ==Distribution and ecology==

Carex kobomugi inhabits sand dunes and other sandy sites along the coast. Its natural distribution extends along the coast of mainland Asia from China's Heilongjiang province, around the Korean Peninsula, and around the Yellow Sea as far south as Zhejiang province. It also occurs around the four main Japanese islands, ==As an invasive species==

Carex kobomugi was introduced to north-eastern North America in the 20th century. It was first recorded on the west coast near Portland, Oregon in 1907, but has not been refound there recently. Having become securely established, Carex kobomugi has since developed into an invasive species, spreading locally via rhizomes, and dispersing further afield through rafting or, more rarely, by dispersal of its buoyant seeds. Its distribution in the United States now extends from Rhode Island to North Carolina. Large-scale disturbance events can both open up habitats for C. kobomugi to colonise, and transport plant material in; after Hurricane Sandy in 2012, C. kobomugi colonised New York from the coastline of New Jersey. The biodiversity of native plants is markedly reduced in areas dominated by Carex kobomugi, which has knock-on effects on animals, such as the hairy-necked tiger beetle, Cicindela hirticollis, and the piping plover, Charadrius melodus. The state governments of Massachusetts and Connecticut have banned the sale and distribution of Carex kobomugi. ==Taxonomy==

Carex kobomugi was first described by the Japanese botanist Jisaburo Ohwi in 1930; the specific epithet comes from the Japanese name for the plant, '' (). Carex kobomugi is closely related to Carex macrocephala, which grows around the northern Pacific Ocean from northern China to Oregon, and was previously treated as a variety of that species; the two are united in Carex sect. Macrocephalae. Vernacular names in English for Carex kobomugi'' include "Japanese sedge" and "Asiatic sand sedge". ==References==