''Cyperus vorsteri'' 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 ...

'' native to

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Description

The

rhizomatous 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 ...

perennial sedge typically grows to a height of and has a robust tufted habit. The triquetrous and smooth culms usually grow to a height of and have a diameter of around . The strongly septate-nodulose deep-green leaves are often longer than culms and have a width of . The plant flowers in spring, between August and November. It forms compound to decompound

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

s that have with seven to thirteen branches that are up to in length. The spikes have a cylindrical form and are around long with a diameter of around . Following flowering it will form a dark yellow-brown trigonous nut with a narrow-obovoid to narrow-ellipsoid shape. The nut has a length of and a diameter of about .

Taxonomy

The species was originally described as '' Mariscus grantii'' by the

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

Charles Baron Clarke Charles Baron Clarke (17 June 1832 – 25 August 1906) was a British botanist. He was born at Andover, Hampshire, Andover, the eldest son of Turner Poulter Clarke. He was educated at King's College School, London, and at Trinity College, Cambrid ...

in 1898 as part of the Thiselton-Dyer work ''Cyperaceae. Flora Capensis''. It was subsequently reclassified into the genus ''Cyperus'' in 1994 by

Karen Wilson Karen Louise Wilson (born 1950) is an Australian botanist. Some of her research interests are: systematics, phylogenetic and biogeographic studies on Cyperaceae, Casuarinaceae, Juncaceae and Polygonaceae. Other professional interests include ...

in the work ''New taxa and combinations in the family Cyperaceae in eastern Australia'' published in the journal '' Telopea''.

Distribution

The species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to South Africa. It has been introduced in

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 is found along streams and creeks in Kalamunda in the outer metropolitan region of

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

where it grows in sandy-clay soils. It has also become naturalised in areas in and around Sydney where it is often found in disturbed areas of woodland and parks.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15535894 vorsteri Endemic flora of South Africa Flora of KwaZulu-Natal Flora of Western Australia Flora of New South Wales Plants described in 1898 Taxa named by Karen Louise Wilson

Description

Taxonomy

Distribution

See also

References