Cladium (Fen-sedge, Sawgrass or Twig-sedge) is a genus of large sedges, with a world-wide distribution in tropical and temperate regions. These are plants characterized by long, narrow (grass-like) leaves having sharp, often serrated (sawtooth-like) margins, and flowering stems 1-3 m tall bearing a much-branched inflorescence. Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms (as opposed to folk taxonomy). ... Divisions Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants Adiantum pedatum (a fern... Classes Magnoliopsida- Dicots Liliopsida- Monocots The flowering plants (also called angiosperms) are a major group of land plants. ... Liliopsida is the botanical name for a class. ... Families (APG) Anarthriaceae Bromeliaceae Centrolepidaceae Cyperaceae Ecdeiocoleaceae Eriocaulaceae Flagellariaceae Hydatellaceae Joinvilleaceae Juncaceae Mayacaceae Poaceae Rapateaceae Restionaceae Sparganiaceae Thurniaceae Typhaceae Xyridaceae The Poales is a cosmopolitan order of monocotyledonous flowering plants. ... Genera See text The Family Cyperaceae, or the Sedge family, is a taxon of monocot flowering plants that superficially resemble grasses or rushes. ... Genera See text The Family Cyperaceae, or the Sedge family, is a taxon of monocot flowering plants that superficially resemble grasses or rushes. ... Clivia miniata bears bright orange flowers. ...

Species

The number of species is disputed, with different authors accepting between two and 60 species as distinct. The following is a selection of species.

• Cladium californicum - California Sawgrass. Southwestern North America; doubtfully distinct from C. jamaicense.
• Cladium chinense. Eastern Asia; doubtfully distinct from C. mariscus.
• Cladium jamaicense (C. mariscus subsp. jamaicense) - Sawgrass. Warm temperate and tropical New World, except where replaced by C. californicum.
• Cladium mariscoides - Smooth Sawgrass. Temperate North America.
• Cladium mariscus - Great Fen-sedge. Europe, Asia, Africa.
• Cladium nipponense. Eastern Asia; doubtfully distinct from C. mariscus.
• Cladium procerum - Leafy Twig-sedge. Australia.

C. jamaicense is common throughout the tropical Americas, one typical and well-known area of extensive saw-grass growth is the Florida Everglades; saw-grass is the plant referred to by the descriptor, "River of Grass". Across the Everglades, C. jamaicense occurs in patches of dense growth surrounded by areas of very sparse growth. Because of the sharp, saw-like serrulations on the blades, dense beds of saw-grass can be dangerous to attempt to navigate through (the blades easily cut flesh). Consequently, the dense saw-grass beds harbor little animal life, but (in the Everglades) are the habitat used by alligators to build nests (Lodge, 1994). It is also considered to be indigenous to the Hawaiian Islands, where it dominates a considerable portion of the largest marsh in Hawai‘i, Kawai Nui Marsh. World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... Carte dAmérique, Guillaume Delisle, c. ... Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiographic one, leading to various perspectives about Europes borders. ... World map showing the location of Asia. ... Africa is the worlds second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia. ... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Area  Ranked 22nd  - Total 65,794 sq. ... An Anhinga perched on the boardwalk railing Everglades is also the name of a city in Collier County, Florida. ... Species Alligator mississippiensis Alligator sinensis An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. ... The word indigenous is an adjective derived from the Latin word indigena, meaning native, belonging to, aboriginal; and has several applications: Indigenous peoples, communities and cultures native or indigenous to a territory; Indigenous (band), a Native American blues-rock band; In biology, indigenous means native to a place or biota... Map of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of islands that stretches 2,400 km in a northwesterly direction from the southern tip of the Island of Hawai‘i. ... Official language(s) English, Hawaiian Capital Honolulu Largest city Honolulu Area  Ranked 43rd  - Total 10,941 sq. ... Kawai Nui Marsh Kawai Nui Marsh (or Kawanui) is, at over 800 ac, the largest wetlands in the Hawaiian Islands. ...

References

• Lodge, Thomas E. 1994. The Everglades Handbook. Understanding the Ecosystem. St. Lucie Press, DelRay Beach, Fl. 228 p. ISBN 18840150609