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User:Viriditas/Cyperus laevigatus

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Nota bene* There is already an article named Cyperus laevigatus in the mainspace.

Tasks

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  • Expand habitat restoration info
  • Add images of makaloa mats, clothing, designs, etc.
  • Describe importance of aerenchyma to the quality of the fabric
  • Consider expanding two separate articles, one on the plant itself and one on the mats and the plaiting art of mat-making

Articles

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Viriditas/Cyperus laevigatus
 
C. laevigatus growing at Midway Atoll
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Monocots
(unranked):
Commelinids
Order:
Poales
Family:
Cyperaceae
Genus:
Cyperus
Species:
C. laevigatus
Binomial name
Cyperus laevigatus

Cyperus laevigatus (Hawaiian: makaloa[1]) is a species of sedge known by the common name smooth flatsedge. It is native to most continents and grows in wet areas, especially in brackish water, wet alkaline soils, mineral-rich hot springs, and other moist saline and alkaline habitat. It is found in or near fresh or salt water in the Hawaiian Islands[2] and in salty pools in the deserts of the American southwest.

Description

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C. laevigatus is a perennial sedge growing up to 60 centimeters tall, sometimes in clumps interconnected on a horizontal rhizome. The inflorescence is a small array of cylindrical spikelets with one to three leaflike bracts at the base. The spikelets vary in color from green to reddish to dark brown.

Cultural use in Hawaii

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Main article: Makaloa
 
C. laevigatus growing in Kanaha Pond, Maui, Hawaii

Great quantities of C. laevigatus were once common on the island of Niihau, growing besides intermittent shallow lakes and ponds. Native Hawaiians on Niihau cultivated the plant for its long stems. The stems were used for plaiting mats called makaloa.[3] Although these mats were also made on other islands, the people of Niihau had a reputation for producing the finest mats using a number of different patterned weaves. The mats were also used for clothing on Niihau because the people did not have access to cloth made from wauke (Broussonetia papyrifera). Wauke has been found growing on the island in the past, but it might have been difficult to grow in the arid conditions of Niihau.[4] Except for small, isolated plant populations, C. laevigatus faced extirpation from the introduction of grazing sheep in the 19th century. Recent conservation efforts have begun restoring the plants native habitat.

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American author Jack London published On the Makaloa Mat (1919), his last collection of short stories before he died. Many of London's stories are based on his visits to Hawaii, the last one for 10 months beginning in December 1915.[5]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Krauss 1993, pp.324-325
  2. ^ Krauss 1993, p.226
  3. ^ On Niihau, Hawaiians called the plant and the mats makaloa. On other islands, the plant was also known as ehuawa. (Rice & St. John 1990)
  4. ^ Wichman, Juliet Rice (1990). A Chronicle and Flora of Niihau. National Tropical Botanical Garden. pp. 66–67. ISBN 0915809141. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ Day, A. Grove (1996) [1984]. "Jack London and Hawaii". In Bob Dye (ed.). Hawaiʻi Chronicles. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. pp. 113–119. ISBN 0824818296.

References

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Wikispecies has information related to Cyperus laevigatus.
 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Viriditas/Cyperus laevigatus.

Further reading

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