Cyperus lanceolatus |
Cyperus |
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epiphytic flatsedge |
cyperus, flatsedge, galingale, nutsedge, umbrella-sedge |
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Habit | Herbs, perennial, cespitose, rhizomatous. | Herbs, perennial or less often annual, cespitose or not, rhizomatous, stoloniferous, rarely tuberous. | ||||||||||||||||
Culms | trigonous, compressed, 15–75 cm × 0.5–3 mm, glabrous. |
solitary or not, trigonous or round, glabrous or scabridulous with extrorse or antrorse (rarely retrorse) prickles. |
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Leaves | 1–3, 5–30 cm × 1–2 mm. |
usually basal; ligules absent; blades keeled abaxially, flat, V-, or inversely W-shaped in cross section. |
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Inflorescences | 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. |
terminal, rarely pseudolateral, 1st order subumbellate to capitate, 2d order with spicate or digitately arranged spikelets, rarely a solitary spikelet; spikelets 1–150; 1st order rays unequal (rarely equal) in length, produced singly from the axils of inflorescence bracts; involucral bracts 1–22, spirally arranged at culm apex, spreading to erect, leaflike. |
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Spikelets | 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. |
scales to 76, distichous, each subtending flower, cylindric to compressed, borne spicately or digitately at ends of rays (occasionally proliferous). |
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Flowers | stamens 2; anthers 0.4–0.5 mm, connectives not prolonged; styles 0.3–1 mm; stigmas 0.6–0.8(–1) mm. |
bisexual [rarely unisexual], in axils of distichous floral scales, bases often decurrent onto rachilla as ± hyaline wings; perianth absent; stamens 1–3; styles linear, 2–3-fid, base deciduous or persistent; stigmas 2–3. |
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Achenes | 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. |
biconvex, flattened, or trigonous. |
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Cyperus lanceolatus |
Cyperus |
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Phenology | Fruiting summer. | |||||||||||||||||
Habitat | Marshes | |||||||||||||||||
Elevation | 0–100 m (0–300 ft) | |||||||||||||||||
Distribution |
AL; FL; GA; LA; TX; Mexico; Central America; South America; Africa
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Pantemperate and tropical |
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Discussion | Species ca. 600 (96 in the flora). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 23, p. 162. | FNA vol. 23, p. 141. | ||||||||||||||||
Parent taxa | Cyperaceae > Cyperus > subg. Pycreus | Cyperaceae | ||||||||||||||||
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Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||||||||||
Synonyms | C. densus, C. humboldtianus, C. lanceolatus var. compositus, Pycreus densus | |||||||||||||||||
Name authority | Poiret: in J. Lamarck et al., Encycl. 7: 245. (1806) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 44. (1753): Gen. Pl. ed. 5, 26. (1754) | ||||||||||||||||
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