Cyperus oxylepis |
Cyperus virens |
|
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sharpscale flatsedge |
green flatsedge |
|
Habit | Herbs, perennial, cespitose, coarse, (culms, leaves, bracts, and rays viscid). | Herbs, perennial, cespitose; rhizomes 0.5–2 cm, often absent. |
Culms | roundly trigonous, 10–50 cm × 0.9–2.4 mm. |
trigonous, (20–)60–70(–100) cm × 2.4–6.9 mm, scabrid on angles. |
Leaves | adaxial face concave, becoming flat to trigonous apically, 10–46 cm × 1.5–4 mm, margins involute. |
4–12, flat to V-shaped, with readily visible cross ribs especially on abaxial surface, 20–50 cm × 3–14 mm. |
Inflorescences | spikes ovoid, 1–5.5 cm wide; rays usually 3–6, 0.5–5 cm, glabrous; sometimes absent in small plants; if absent, inflorescence a congested head of spikelets 1–3.5 cm diam.; 2d order rays 0–3, 1–3 cm; bracts 3–5, vertical to ascending at 45°, 2.5–25 cm × 1.2–4 mm, margins involute; 2d order bracts 0–2, 5–20 mm; rachilla persistent, wingless. |
heads digitate to hemispheric, 1–3.5 cm diam.; rays 6–12, 1–9(–14) cm; 2d order rays often present, (0.5–)1–3 cm; 3d order rays occasionally present, 5–12 mm; bracts 4–8, horizontal to ascending at 30°, with prominent cross ribs,V-shaped, (1.5–)3–50(–75) cm × 0.5–13 mm; 2d order bracts 3–10 × 1–2 mm. |
Spikelets | 5–24, greenish yellow to golden brown, oblong to linear-lanceoloid, quadrangular, strongly compressed, 7–20(–30) × 2.5–4(–6) mm; floral scales 10–20(–40), spreading, pale green to stramineous, laterally 2–3-ribbed, ovate-lanceolate, 3.1–4 × 1.5–2.4 mm, apex with mucro 0.2–0.8 mm. |
10–40(–50), oblong to linear-lanceoloid, 5–18 × 2–3.2 mm; floral scales 10–40, pale grayish brown, or greenish, proximally greenish or brownish, oblanceolate, 2-keeled, weakly to distinctly 1-ribbed, proximal half 2-ribbed, (1.3–)1.5–2(–2.4) × 0.9–1.4 mm, apex acute (sometimes mucronulate), apically glabrous, occasionally scabridulous. |
Flowers | anthers 0.6–0.8 mm; styles 0.8–1.6 mm; stigmas 1–1.4 mm. |
stamens 1–2; anthers 0.8–1.4 mm; styles 0.8–1 mm; stigmas 0.6–0.8 mm. |
Achenes | light to dark brown, rarely somewhat reddish, stipitate, ellipsoid, 2–2.4 × 0.5–0.8 mm, base cuneate, stipe whitish, spongy, 0.2–0.3 × 0.2–0.4 mm, apex acute, persistent style forming beak 0.5–1.2 mm, surfaces glabrous or finely papillose. |
brown, slightly to distinctly stipitate, ellipsoid (2.7–4.1 times as long as wide), (0.9–)1.2–1.5 × 0.3–0.4 mm, apical beak 0.1–0.5 mm, surfaces glabrous. |
Cyperus oxylepis |
Cyperus virens |
|
Phenology | Fruiting summer. | Fruiting spring–fall. |
Habitat | Ditches and disturbed places in marshes, often in saline soil | Wet pastures, marshes, roadside ditches |
Elevation | 0–100 m (0–300 ft) | |
Distribution |
AR; FL; GA; LA; MS; SC; TX; Mexico; South America [Introduced in North America]
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AL; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; TX; Mexico; Central America; South America
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Discussion | Cyperus oxylepis is easily recognized by its sticky leaves, culms, and bracts (in living plants), involute leaves,and golden brown spikelets. The ovate-lanceolate floral scales and the ellipsoid, brownish achene with a persistent beak distinguish C. oxylepis from other species with deciduous floral scales. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Cyperus virens was found as waif in California in the 1800s (M. F. Denton 1978b; G. C. Tucker 1993b). Cyperus virens is readily distinguished from other species of subg. Pycnostachys by its trigonous culms, scabrid angles, and leaves and inflorescence bracts conspicuously septate by numerous cross ribs between the main ribs. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 23, p. 171. | FNA vol. 23, p. 153. |
Parent taxa | Cyperaceae > Cyperus > subg. Cyperus | Cyperaceae > Cyperus > subg. Pycnostachys |
Sibling taxa | ||
Name authority | Nees ex Steudel: Syn. Pl. Glumac. 2: 25. (1855) | Michaux: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 1: 28. (1803) |
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