Elegia capensis (Burm.f.) Schelpe

국표에는 없다.

Elegia capensis, called the horsetail restio, is a species of grass‑like flowering plant in the genus Elegia, native to the Cape Provinces of South Africa. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Elegia capensis - Wikipedia

Family: 레스티오과(Restionaceae)

Common names: horsetail restio (Eng.); besemriet, fonteinriet, katstert, kanet (Afr.)

This restio is a tall, dark green, elegant plant with large, decorative, papery sheaths along the stems. It is a good feature plant next to a pond, a swimming pool or in the garden.

The stems (culms) grow from underground rhizomes, are quite thick, divided into sections (internodes) like bamboo plants and can be up to 3 m tall. At each node there is a circle of clumps of long, needle-like branches, which give the plant its horsetail-like appearance. The young stems also have a large, leaf-like structure or sheath around the stem at each node, which protects the growing point as each section is formed. As the stem grows older, these sheaths become stiff and parchment-like and stand away from the stem. This is a very decorative stage of the growth of the plant and to an observant gardener, the plants produce an intriguing crackling noise as the sheaths dry out in the sun and the plants seem to whisper to the garden around them. When the plants are nearly ready to flower, the sheaths fall off and leave the stems with a thin line and the long, fully-grown clumps of needle-like branches.

At this stage, the large male or female inflorescences begin to unfurl at the top of the branches, at first also enclosed in a large, leaf-like bract (spathe), which falls off as the inflorescence matures. Both male and female inflorescences are about 350 mm long, first golden brown, later dark brown.

The inflorescences are decorative from about September to February. The actual flowers are very small, white or greenish yellow and open during October-November. The seeds look like small, winged nuts and are ripe during March.

The plants form a thick forest of stems and can eventually occupy quite a large space if the rhizomes are not kept in check. The growth during the first two years may seem fairly slow, the plants reaching a height of 1 m during their first year. Depending on the amount of water available, they will reach a height of about 2.5 m after three years. From then on the rhizomes spread fast and the plant can easily reach a diameter of 3 to 5 m.

Elegia capensis | PlantZAfrica (sanbi.org)

 

 

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