''Cyperus afroalpinus'' is a species of
sedge
The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large, with some 5,500 known species described in about 90 genera, the largest being the "true sedges" genus ''Carex'' wit ...
that is native to
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
and was described by the botanist
Kåre Arnstein Lye
Kåre Arnstein Lye (9 March 1940 – 24 March 2021) was a Norwegian botanist and field biologist.
This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation when citing a botanical name.
Lye was born in Bryne in south western Norway and studied at ...
in 1983.
Description
The slender and
perennial
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...
sedge typically grows to a height of around with a short creeping
rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...
and have multiple, crowded
culms with a length of and a width of and are trigonous to triquetrous.
Distribution and habitat
It is found in tropical parts of central Africa in
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
,
Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
,
Zaïre
Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...
and
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
where it is commonly situated in clearings in upper montane forest communities at elevations of where it is associated with bamboo and giant heath.
[
]
See also
* List of ''Cyperus'' species
References
afroalpinus
Flora of Africa
Plants described in 1983
Taxa named by Kåre Arnstein Lye
{{Cyperus-stub