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Zig-zag
Bog-sedge
Zig-zap Bog-sedge - Schoenus
brevifolius
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Zz
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In almost all swamps and shallow wetlands across Australia there are grass-like plants called sedges. The Zig-zag Bog-sedge (so-called because of the arrangement of its brown, chaffy flowers in the flower head) is one that often completely covers swamps, keeping out almost all other species.
All plants, like all animals, need to breathe and that means they need oxygen. Some underwater plants get enough oxygen from the water around them but most, including the Zig-zag Bog-sedge, need oxygen from the air. This is a problem for wetland plants as their roots and parts of their stems are almost always under water. How do they get oxygen to their underwater parts? The answer is plumbing. Each stem of the Zig-zag Bog-sedge has a number of microscopic, waterproof 'pipes' that run from the tops of the stems, which are open to the air, right down to the roots.
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