''Cyperus cuspidatus'', commonly known as the coastal plain flatsedge, is a sedge of the family

Cyperaceae 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'' w ...

that is native to seasonally dry tropical areas of

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 ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, the

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

s and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Description

The annual sedge typically grows to a height of and has a tufted habit. In Australia it blooms between February and August producing green-yellow-brown flowers. The plant has a slender root system. The

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin ''glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...

culms are tufted and have a triangular corss-section with length of and a width of . It has linear shaped leaf blades that can be flat or rolled that taper to a pointed end. The leaves are in length and have a width of . the leaves are accompanied by red-brown to purple coloured sheaths of a similar length and width.

Taxonomy

The species was described by the botanist

Carl Sigismund Kunth Carl Sigismund Kunth (18 June 1788 – 22 March 1850), also Karl Sigismund Kunth or anglicized as Charles Sigismund Kunth, was a German botanist. He is known for being one of the first to study and categorise plants from the Americas, American c ...

in 1816 as a part of the work ''Nova genera et species plantarum'' authored by Kunth,

Aimé Bonpland Aimé Jacques Alexandre Bonpland (; 22 August 1773 – 11 May 1858) was a French explorer and botanist who traveled with Alexander von Humboldt in Latin America from 1799 to 1804. He co-authored volumes of the scientific results of their ex ...

and

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, p ...

. It has a total of 18

synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

including; ''Cyperus angustifolius'', ''Cyperus gratus'', ''Cyperus recurvus'', ''Cyperus waterlotii'' and ''Dichostylis cuspidata''. The

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wiktionary:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to a ...

was collected by von Humboldt and Bonpland in Venezuela in 1800.

Distribution

In Australia it is found in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

and it is found along creeks, streams and rivers in the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

region of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

where it grows in stony red sand-loam soils over

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

. In Asia it is found from

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

in the west to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

in the east and extends down into

Malesia Malesia is a biogeographical region straddling the Equator and the boundaries of the Indomalayan and Australasian realms, and also a phytogeographical floristic region in the Paleotropical Kingdom. It has been given different definitions. The ...

. It is found in southern parts of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

extending through

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

and in northern parts of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15227275 cuspidatus Taxa named by Carl Sigismund Kunth Plants described in 1816 Flora of Western Australia Flora of the Northern Territory Flora of Queensland Flora of Pakistan Flora of India Flora of Alabama Flora of Angola Flora of Assam Flora of Bangladesh Flora of Benin Flora of Bolivia Flora of Borneo Flora of Botswana Flora of Brazil Flora of Burkina Faso Flora of Burundi Flora of Cambodia Flora of the Central African Republic Flora of Chad Flora of China Flora of Colombia Flora of the Republic of the Congo Flora of Cuba Flora of El Salvador Flora of Ethiopia Flora of Florida Flora of French Guiana Flora of Gabon Flora of the Gambia Flora of Georgia (U.S. state) Flora of Guyana Flora of Guinea Flora of Ghana Flora of Guinea-Bissau Flora of Hainan Flora of Honduras Flora of Ivory Coast Flora of Java Flora of Kenya Flora of Laos Flora of Liberia Flora of Madagascar Flora of Malawi Flora of Malaysia Flora of Mali Flora of Mauritania Flora of Mauritius Flora of Mexico Flora of Mozambique Flora of Namibia Flora of Nepal Flora of Niger Flora of Nigeria Flora of Peru Flora of the Philippines Flora of Senegal Flora of Sierra Leone Flora of Somalia Flora of South Carolina Flora of Sri Lanka Flora of Sudan Flora of Sulawesi Flora of Suriname Flora of Swaziland Flora of Taiwan Flora of Tanzania Flora of Thailand Flora of Tibet Flora of Togo Flora of Uganda Flora of Venezuela Flora of Vietnam Flora of Zambia Flora of Zimbabwe Flora of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Description

Taxonomy

Distribution

See also

References