Cyperus gilesii

Cyperus gilesii, commonly known as Giles' flat-sedge,[1] is a sedge of the Cyperaceae that is native to Australia.

Giles' flat-sedge
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Cyperaceae
Genus: Cyperus
Species:
C. gilesii
Binomial name
Cyperus gilesii
Cyperus gilesii flower
Cyperus gilesii fruit

Description

The annual or perennial sedge has a slender tufted habit. It has smooth trigonous or triquetrous shaped culms that are typically 10 to 35 cm (3.9 to 13.8 in) in height with a diameter of 0.8 to 2 mm (0.031 to 0.079 in) diameter.[2]

The septate to nodulose leaves are shorter than the culms and have a width of about 4.5 mm (0.18 in). The sedge flowers in spring and summer producing simple inflorescences with one to five branches that have a length of around 6 cm (2.4 in). The dense flower clusters are subdigitate with a hemispherical to globose shape and a diameter of around 50 mm (2.0 in). There are one to three leaf-like involucral bracts. There are many flattened spikelets per cluster that have a length of 10 to 30 mm (0.39 to 1.18 in) and a width of 2.5 to 4.5 mm (0.098 to 0.177 in) containing 8 to 34 golden brown to red-brown flowers. After flowering a trigonous very narrow-ellipsoidally shaped red-brown to grey-brown nut forms that has a length of 2.0 to 5.0 mm (0.079 to 0.197 in) and a 0.3 to 1.0 mm (0.012 to 0.039 in) diameter.[2][1]

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described by the botanist George Bentham in 1878 in the work Flora Australiensis.[3] The specific epithet honours the explorer William Ernest Powell Giles who led five major expeditions throughout central Australia.[1]

Distribution

C. gilesii is found throughout Australia. It is common throughout Queensland, northern South Australia, northern New South Wales and eastern parts of the Northern Territory.[4][1] In Western Australia it only occurs only rarely in the Pilbara region.[5] It is often situated ephemerally wet situations, including inland stream and river banks, floodplains and roadside drains.[2]

gollark: Was the crocodile MEANT to be bargained with? Suspicious.
gollark: That seems oddly low.
gollark: Crocodile negotiation skills + 1?
gollark: I ask the crocodile to stop attacking coral, d6.
gollark: Where is ubq?

See also

References
  1. "Cyperus gilesii (Cyperaceae) Giles' Flat-sedge". Seeds of South Australia. Government of South Australia. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  2. "Cyperus gilesii Benth". PlantNet. Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  3. "Cyperus gilesii Benth". Alas of Living Australia. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  4. "Occurrence records". Australasian Virtual Herbarium. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  5. "Cyperus gilesii". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
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