Cyperus involucratus |
Cyperus lanceolatus |
|
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umbrella-plant |
epiphytic flatsedge |
|
Habit | Herbs, perennial, cespitose, rhizomatous. | Herbs, perennial, cespitose, rhizomatous. |
Culms | trigonous, 30–150 cm × 1–5(–8) mm. |
trigonous, compressed, 15–75 cm × 0.5–3 mm, glabrous. |
Leaves | bladeless. |
1–3, 5–30 cm × 1–2 mm. |
Inflorescences | heads digitate, 15–30(–36) mm diam.; rays (14–)20–22, (2–)5–12(–20) cm; 2d order rays 0.3–3(–4) cm; 3d order rays sometimes present, 0.3–2.5 cm; bracts (4–)18–22, ± horizontal, flat, 15–27 cm × (1.5–)8–12 mm. |
spikes 1(–2), ovoid, 5–23 × 9–21 mm; rays 2–3(–4), 0–15 mm; if rays absent, head single, compact, sessile, (12–)15–20 mm diam.; bracts 2–3, horizontal to vertical, 2–14 cm × 0.5–3.5 mm. |
Spikelets | 8–20, ovoid to linear-lanceoloid, compressed, 5–25 × 1.5–2 mm; floral scales 8–28, laterally whitish or light brown, ± hyaline, medially light brown, laterally ribless, medially 3-ribbed, 2-keeled in proximal 30–60%, deltate-ovate, 1.6–2.4 × (1–)1.2–1.5(–1.7) mm, apex acute. |
1–6, oblong-lanceoloid, 5–26 × 2–3 mm; floral scales 12–54, closely imbricate, laterally yellowish brown, medially pale brown, occasionally greenish, laterally 1-ribbed, medially 3-ribbed, distinctly 2-keeled basally, ovate, 1.8–2.6 × 1.4–1.7 mm, apex obtuse. |
Flowers | stamens 3; anthers 0.7–1 mm; styles 0.5–1 mm; stigmas 0.6–1 mm. |
stamens 2; anthers 0.4–0.5 mm, connectives not prolonged; styles 0.3–1 mm; stigmas 0.6–0.8(–1) mm. |
Achenes | brown, sessile or stipitate, broadly ellipsoid, 0.6–0.8 × 0.4–0.6 mm, stipe if present to 0.1 mm, apex obtuse, apiculate, surfaces puncticulate. |
brown, network of ridges forming isodiametric or square cells, stipitate, obovoid to ellipsoid, 1.1–1.3 × (0.5–)0.6 mm, apex acute to broadly rounded, surfaces minutely punctate or finely papillose. |
Cyperus involucratus |
Cyperus lanceolatus |
|
Phenology | Fruiting early summer–fall. | Fruiting summer. |
Habitat | Damp, disturbed soils, ditches, stream banks | Marshes |
Elevation | 0–100(–800) m [0–300(–2600) ft] | 0–100 m [0–300 ft] |
Distribution |
CA; FL; LA; TX; e Africa [Introduced in North America] |
AL; FL; GA; LA; TX; Mexico; Central America; South America; Africa
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Discussion | Cyperus involucratus has been collected in New York (R. S. Mitchell and G. C. Tucker 1997). Cyperus involucratus is widely cultivated as a water plant in greenhouses and outdoors in warm-temperate or tropical climates. It has long been misidentified in the flora as C. alternifolius Linnaeus, an endemic of Madagascar (G. C. Tucker 1983). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
|
Source | FNA vol. 23, p. 150. | FNA vol. 23, p. 162. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | C. densus, C. humboldtianus, C. lanceolatus var. compositus, Pycreus densus | |
Name authority | Rottbøll: Descr. Pl. Rar., 22. (1772) | Poiret: in J. Lamarck et al., Encycl. 7: 245. (1806) |
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