Cyperus parishii |
Cyperus oxylepis |
|
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Parish flatsedge, Parish's flatsedge, Parish's nutgrass |
sharpscale flatsedge |
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Habit | Herbs, annual, cespitose. | Herbs, perennial, cespitose, coarse, (culms, leaves, bracts, and rays viscid). |
Culms | trigonous, 5–25 cm × 1–1.5 mm, glabrous. |
roundly trigonous, 10–50 cm × 0.9–2.4 mm. |
Leaves | adaxial face concave, becoming flat to trigonous apically, 10–46 cm × 1.5–4 mm, margins involute. |
|
Inflorescences | spikes loosely ovoid, 15–25 mm wide; rays 1–6, 2–7 cm; bracts 2–5, 3–20 cm, ascending; rachilla deciduous, winged. |
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. |
Spikelets | 5–30, linear, flattened, 6–22 × 1.5–2.2 mm; floral scales ± deciduous, (4–)8–12, red, reddish purple, or reddish brown, medially green, elliptic, laterally 2–4-ribbed, 2.3–3.1 × 1.2–2 mm, apex acute to obtuse. |
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. |
Flowers | anthers 0.3–0.4 mm; styles 1 mm; stigmas 1.3–1.6 mm. |
anthers 0.6–0.8 mm; styles 0.8–1.6 mm; stigmas 1–1.4 mm. |
Achenes | brown to dark purplish brown, broadly ellipsoid, 1–1.3 × 0.6–0.9 mm, surfaces puncticulate. |
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. |
Cyperus parishii |
Cyperus oxylepis |
|
Phenology | Fruiting summer. | Fruiting summer. |
Habitat | Stream banks, desert washes, arroyos, roadsides | Ditches and disturbed places in marshes, often in saline soil |
Elevation | 0 800 m (0 2600 ft) | 0–100 m (0–300 ft) |
Distribution |
AZ; CA; NM
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AR; FL; GA; LA; MS; SC; TX; Mexico; South America [Introduced in North 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.) |
|
Source | FNA vol. 23, p. 170. | FNA vol. 23, p. 171. |
Parent taxa | Cyperaceae > Cyperus > subg. Cyperus | Cyperaceae > Cyperus > subg. Cyperus |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | C. congestus var. parishii | |
Name authority | Britton ex Parish: Bull. S. Calif. Acad. Sci. 3: 52, plate 3. (1904) | Nees ex Steudel: Syn. Pl. Glumac. 2: 25. (1855) |
Web links |