Perennials, tufted or rhizomatous, sometimes robust
Culms usually nodose and leafy
Leaves basal and cauline, eligulate; sheath with adaxial apex truncate to U-shaped; blade with or without keeled midrib, profile V-shaped or crescentiform
Inflorescence a large or reduced panicle
Spikelets short, of 4-7 spirally arranged glumes; 2 or 3 lowest glumes empty, next 1 or 2 with bisexual, fertile florets, uppermost floret male or empty
Perianth of 6 bristles, shorter than, to slightly longer than nutlet
Stamens 3
Style elongate; branches 3, elongate
Nutlet ellipsoid, 3-angled, papillate, ± beaked and hispid
Nomenclature:
Carpha R.Br.
Brown: 230 (1810)
Clarke: 269 (1898)
Clarke: 483 (1902)
Kükenthal: 101 (1939a)
Kükenthal: 209 (1939b) including Trianoptiles Fenzl
Schonland: 55 (1922)
Gordon-Gray: 103 (1972)
Bond & Goldblatt: 38 (1984)
Gordon-Gray: 43 (1995)
Asterochaete Nees
Nees: 300 (1835)
Kunth: 311 (1837)
Levyns: 119 (1950)
Schoenus L. in part
Thunberg: 17 (1794)
Distribution & Notes:
Global: Species ± 15, southern hemisphere
Southern Africa: Species ± 5, occurring in Northern Province, Mpumalanga, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, Western and Eastern Cape
References:
BOND, P. & GOLDBLATT, P. 1984. Plants of the Cape Flora: A descriptive catalogue. Journal of South African Botany Suppl. Vol. 13
BROWN, R. 1810. Prodromus florae Novae Hollandiae 1. J. Johnson & Co., London
CLARKE, C.B. 1898. Cyperaceae. Flora capensis 7
CLARKE, C.B. 1902. Cyperaceae. Flora of tropical Africa 8
GORDON-GRAY, K.D. 1972. Cyperaceae. In J.H. Ross, The Flora of Natal. Memoirs of the Botanical Survey of South Africa No. 39
GORDON-GRAY, K.D. 1995. Cyperaceae in Natal. Strelitzia 2
KÜKENTHAL, G. 1939a. Vorarbeiten zu einer Monographie der Rhynchosporoideae. VI. Feddes Repertorium 47
KÜKENTHAL, G. 1939b. Vorarbeiten zu einer Monographie der Rhynchosporoideae. VII. Feddes Repertorium 47
LEVYNS, M.R. 1950. Cyperaceae. In R.S. Adamson & T.M. Salter, Flora of the Cape Peninsula. Juta, Cape Town
NEES VON ESENBECK, C.G. 1835. Uebersicht der Cyperaceengattungen. Linnaea 9
SCHONLAND, S. 1922. Introduction to South African Cyperaceae. Memoirs of the Botanical Survey of South Africa No. 3
THUNBERG, C.P. 1794. Prodromus plantarum capensium. Edman, Uppsala.
Copyright of the content hosted by this website remains with the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), unless stated otherwise. Material from this site may be used in other media, provided that SANBI is acknowledged by the name South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) or refer to the 'How to cite this resource' paragraph on the Home page. Liability disclaimer: Visitors use this site at their own risk and SANBI is not liable for any of the consequences resulting therefrom.
Welcome to Biodiversity Advisor 2.0!
Biodiversity Advisor, developed by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and its Data Partners, is a system that will provide integrated biodiversity information to a wide range of users who will have access to geospatial data, plant and animal species distribution data, ecosystem-level data, literature, images and metadata.
The integrated information comes from our much-loved Botanical Database of Southern Africa (BODATSA) also known as Plants of Southern Africa (POSA), Zoological Database of Southern Africa (ZODATSA), Biodiversity Geographic Information System (BGIS), SANBI's institutional repository (Opus) and others.
The system is still under development, so you may find a few bugs/issues. If you do, please report it via the error reporting button available in various sections of the website or provide us with any useful feedback you may have via the ‘Give us feedback’ option available in the sidebar menu. You can create a free account for yourself by clicking on the user profile icon which will take you through to the login page. Here you can choose the ‘Create an account’ option or simply fill in your details if you have an account already. Having an account on Biodiversity Advisor will provide users with free access to biodiversity resources.
In future, Team SANBI will be able to log in using their day-to-day login details, BGIS users will be able to use their existing accounts and details, and general users will be able to log in using their LinkedIn profile, but for now you will need to create an account.
