''Cyperus holstii'' 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 central

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 ...

, including the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country 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 ...

, and

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. The species was first formally described by the botanist Georg Kükenthal in 1925.

Ecology and Distribution

In Tropical Africa, the biology of Cyperus holstii is a

perennial herb 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 widel ...

to 1, 15 m tall, with

stolon In biology, stolons (from Latin '' stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as runners, are horizontal connections between organisms. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton; typically, animal stolons are external s ...

s c. (2 mm) and is covered by loose scales; culms few (45-67 cm long, 3,5-6 mm),

trigonous This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

; leaves (1-31 to 50 cm long); sheath is pale brown, and is sometimes pale reddish-brown (6-12 cm long); blade flat (16-38 cm long, 5,5-10 mm). Cyperus holstii grows on seasonally wet grassland; alongside pools; swamps; 0-250 m alt. Very similar to C. longus from which it differs by its longer peduncles (10-30 cm vs. 0,5-10 cm), more numerous (6-9 vs. 2-5) and larger involucral

bracts In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

(15-40x0, 4-0,8 cm vs. 6-28x0, 2-0,5 cm).

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15532761 holstii Taxa named by Georg Kükenthal Plants described in 1925 Flora of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Flora of Kenya Flora of Tanzania

Ecology and Distribution

See also

References