'L'l B R.A R.Y
OF THL
UN IVERSITY
or ILLINOIS
seo.s
5
v.
FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
FOUNDED BY MARSHALL FIELD, 1893
PUBLICATION 284
BOTANICAL SERIES VOL. VIII, No. 4
THE
CYPERACEAE OF CENTRAL
AMERICA
BY
PAUL C. STANDLEY
ASSOCIATE CURATOR OF THE HERBARIUM, DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY
B. E. DAHLGREN
ACTING CURATOR, DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY
EDITOR
CHICAGO, U. S. A.
JANUARY 26, 1931
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
BT FIELD MUSEUM PRESS
THE CYPERACEAE OF CENTRAL AMERICA
PAUL C. STANDLEY
More than ten years ago the writer prepared an account of the
sedges of the family Cyperaceae occurring in Central America.
Since its compilation the manuscript has been used frequently in the
determination of current collections. The keys have been found to
be as satisfactory, or as unsatisfactory, as keys usually are in this
family, and the descriptions and locality data have proved helpful
in making determinations. Therefore it seems worth while to publish
the account, which, however, does not pretend to be of a mono-
graphic nature.
The 159 Cyperaceae listed here constitute one of the larger
families of Central American plants. They are of but slight economic
importance, except that some with soft, spongy, and tough stems are
utilized generally in this region for weaving the thick mats or pads
that serve as mattresses upon the painfully hard Central American
beds. Some of the plants doubtless are eaten by stock, with the
coarse grasses that accompany them. Several of the sedges are
abundant weeds in cultivated ground. Perhaps the majority of the
species are inhabitants of cultivated ground or of second-growth
thickets, but some are found only in virgin forest or in the delightful
meadows of the high mountains, and several others never are seen
elsewhere than along the sea beaches or in salt meadows.
The preliminary draft of this paper was prepared before the writer
visited Central America. It is a remarkable fact that his own
collections, amounting to about 40,000 numbers, and the very exten-
sive series gathered in Central America during the past ten years by
other collectors, have added less than ten species to the list of Cypera-
ceae originally prepared. Evidently most of the species of the area
have been collected. Certainly there are many other groups of plants
in which the same condition does not prevail, for recent explorations
have added hundreds of species, many genera, and even several
families to the known Central American flora.
In the Botany of the Biologia Centrali- Americana Hemsley listed
the Cyperaceae known fifty years ago from Central America. In
1908 C. B. Clarke published (Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 10: 443-471)
an account of the Costa Rican species of the family. These are the
239
240 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — BOTANY, VOL. VIII
most important publications dealing with the group as it is repre-
sented in the area under consideration.
The writer is indebted to Dr. N. L. Britton, who has given advice
regarding certain parts of the present paper, and to Kenneth K.
Mackenzie, who has furnished the account of the genus Carex.
CYPERACEAE. Sedge Family
Annual or perennial, grasslike or rushlike herbs; stems (culms)
solid, triangular, quadrangular, terete, or compressed; leaves narrow,
usually with closed sheaths; flowers perfect or unisexual, arranged in
spikelets, one in the axil of each scale, the spikelets 1- to many-
flowered; scales 2-ranked or spirally imbricate, persistent or decid-
uous; perianth of bristles or scales, or often absent; stamens 1-3;
anthers 2-celled; style 2-3-cleft, rarely simple; fruit an achene.
Flowers partly (the fertile ones) perfect.
Scales of the spikelets 2-ranked; perianth none.
Spikelets with only one perfect flower; spikelets capitate.
1. Kyllinga.
Spikelets usually with 2 or more perfect flowers; spikelets
variously arranged 2. Cyperus.
Scales spirally imbricate; perianth of bristles often present.
Empty scales at base of the spikelet 1 or 2 or more.
Base of the style persistent upon the achene as a tubercle.
Spikelet one; leaves reduced to sheaths; perianth of bristles
usually present 3. Eleocharis.
Spikelets more than one; leaves present; perianth none.
4. Stenophyllus.
Base of the style not persistent.
Flowers without inner scales.
Base of the style swollen; bristles none. . .5. Fimbristylis.
Base of the style not swollen ; bristles present . . 6. Scirpus.
Flowers with one or more inner scales.
Flowers with 3 broad stipitate scales alternating with
bristles • 7. Fuirena.
Flowers with 1 or 2 hyaline scales and no bristles.
Inner scales (2) complicate and connate. .8. Ascokpis.
Inner scales not complicate, free.
Inner scales 2, convolute 9. Lipocarpha.
Inner scale 1, minute 10. Hemicarpha.
CYPERACEAE OF CENTRAL AMERICA 241
Empty scales at the base of the spikelet 3 or more.
Style 3-cleft.
Fertile flower axillary; plants large 11. Mariscus.
Fertile flower pseudo-terminal; plants small. .12. Remirea.
Style 2-cleft.
Spikelets compressed, clustered in a single head; bristles
none 13. Dichromena.
Spikelets not compressed, usually paniculate or corymbose;
bristles usually present 14. Rynchospora.
Flowers all unisexual.
Pistillate flower enclosed in a utricle.
Utricle enclosing a long uncinate bristle 20. Uncinia.
Utricle enclosing only the pistil 21. Carex.
Pistillate flowers not enclosed in a utricle.
Fertile flowers in each spikelet often more than one, each sub-
tended by a scale, lateral.
Fertile flower basal 15. Scleria.
Fertile flower terminal 16. Calyptrocarya.
Fertile flower in each spikelet one, naked, terminal.
Spikelets in umbellate or paniculate spikes.
Spikes of spikelets about 5 mm. long; flowers 3 in each
spikelet 17. Hypolytrum.
Spikes 15-30 mm. long; flowers 6-9 in each spikelet.
18. Diplasia.
Spikelets crowded in dense heads of spikes 19. Mapania.
1. KYLLINGA Rottb.
Plants annual or perennial, glabrous or nearly so; culms tri-
angular, leafy below, the leaves sometimes reduced to sheaths;
inflorescence terminal, consisting of 1-3 more or less confluent heads,
the heads usually inyolucrate; spikelets composed of 3-4 scales, only
the middle one fertile, the scales 2-ranked, keeled; perianth none;
stamens 1-3; style bifid; achene lenticular. — About 45 species, widely
distributed in temperate and tropical regions.
Head of spikelets not involucrate 1. K. nudiceps.
Head of spikelets subtended by involucre of one or more leaflike bracts.
Plants annual or biennial ; rootstocks very short or none, the culms
cespitose.
Fertile scale scabrous-ciliate on the keel, eglandular.
2. K. pumila.
242 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — BOTANY, VOL. VIII
Fertile scale smooth on the keel, bearing scattered red glands.
3. K. odorata.
Plants perennial, usually with stout elongate rootstocks, the culms
not cespitose.
Leaf blades absent, the sheaths scarious, colored.
4. K. peruviana.
Leaf blades present, the sheaths scarcely scarious, not colored.
Leaves abruptly narrowed, much shorter than the stout culms.
5. K. pungens.
Leaves long-attenuate, nearly equaling the slender culms.
6. K. brevifolia.
1. Kyllinga nudiceps Clarke ex Standl. Field Mus. Bot. 4:
199. 1929.
Cocos Island, Costa Rica; endemic; type, Pittier 16272.
Plants erect, with short, horizontal or ascending rhizomes; culms
slender, 20-50 cm. long, less than 1 mm. thick, striate, glabrous;
leaves all reduced to sheaths, these purplish, 7 mm. long or less;
head solitary, naked, subglobose, 5-6 mm. broad; fertile scale
navicular, ovate, acute, brown-dotted, the keel smooth.
2. Kyllinga pumila Michx. Fl. Bor. Amer. 1: 28. 1803. K.
caespitosa Nees in Mart. Fl. Bras. 21: 12. 1842.
Guatemala; Honduras; Salvador; Nicaragua; Costa Rica; Pan-
ama; in moist soil, often a weed in cultivated ground, ranging from
sea level to 1,800 m. Widely distributed in North and South America ;
also in Africa.
Plants annual, cespitose, 5-40 cm. high, the culms slender; leaf
blades well developed, usually shorter than the culm, 2-3 mm. wide;
heads 1-3, ovoid or cylindric, 5-10 mm. long; bracts 3-4, 8 cm. long
or less.
3. Kyllinga odorata Vahl, Enum. PI. 2: 382. 1806.
Guatemala; Honduras; Costa Rica; Panama; in wet soil, ranging
from sea level to 1,500 m. Southern United States and Mexico;
West Indies and South America.
Plants annual or biennial, cespitose, the culms 10-40 cm. long,
slender; leaves shorter than the culms, 2-4 mm. wide; heads 1-3,
ovoid or cylindric, 15 mm. long or less; bracts 3-4, 8 cm. long or
shorter.
4. Kyllinga peruviana Lam. Encycl. 3: 366. 1789. K. vaginata
Lam. 111. Gen. 1: 148. 1791. Mariscus aphyllus Vahl, Enum. PI. 2:
373. 1806. K. aphylla Kunth, Enum. PL 2: 127. 1837.
British Honduras; Guatemala; Honduras; Nicaragua (according
to Hemsley) ; Costa Rica; Panama; in wet soil along the coast, usually
growing in beach sand. West Indies, South America, and tropical
America generally.
CYPERACEAE OF CENTRAL AMERICA 243
Leaves all reduced to loose sheaths; culms stout, 20-50 cm. high;
bracts usually shorter than the head; head one, 1 cm. or less in
diameter.
5. Kyllinga pungens Link, Hort. Berol. 1: 326. 1827.
Guatemala; Honduras; Salvador; Costa Rica; Panama; in wet
soil on or near sea beaches. Porto Rico; South America; Africa and
Asia.
Lower leaves reduced to loose sheaths, the upper ones bearing
short blades about 4 mm. wide; culms 10-40 cm. high, stout, the
bracts 1-6 cm. long; head one, globose, 6-9 mm. in diameter.
6. Kyllinga brevifolia Rottb. Descr. & Icon. 13. pi. 4,f- 3. 1773.
Guatemala; Honduras; Salvador; Panama; in wet soil, ranging
from sea level to 2,400 m. Widely distributed in the warmer regions
ofjaoth hemispheres.
Rhizomes often much elongate; leaves 2-4 mm. wide; culms
10-40 cm. long, slender; bracts 3-4, 12 cm. long or less; heads 1-3,
ovoid or short-cylindric, 7-12 mm. long; scales usually scabrous along
the keel.
2. CYPERUS L.
Annuals or perennials, the culms simple, usually triangular and
leafy; inflorescence involucrate, capitate or umbellate; spikelets flat
or subterete, few- or many-flowered, the rachis often winged, the
scales concave, conduplicate or carinate, 2-ranked; flowers perfect;
perianth none; stamens 1-3; style 2-3-cleft; achene lenticular or
3-angulate. — About 600 species, in tropical and temperate regions.
Style 2-clef t.
Surface of the achene transversely undulate-lineate, the cells
longitudinally oblong 1. C. flavescens.
Surface of the achene not transversely undulate, the cells quadrate.
Spikelets about 5 mm. wide 2. C. unioloides.
Spikelets 1.5-3 mm. wide.
Spikelets yellowish or greenish.
Spikelets about 1.5 mm. wide.
Spikelets densely spicate, ascending, the scales closely
appressed 3. C. odoratus.
Spikelets laxly spicate, spreading, the scales not appressed.
Scales acute; plants perennial 4. C. paniculatus.
Scales obtuse; plants annual 5. C. fugax.
Spikelets 2-3 mm. wide.
Clusters of spikelets crowded into a single head.
6. C. Olfersianus.
244 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — BOTANY, VOL. VIII
Clusters of spikelets umbellate 7. C. HumboldtiamiS.
Spikelets chestnut-brown or spotted with chestnut.
Plants perennial; spikelets in dense headlike spikes.
8. C. melanostachyus.
Plants annual; spikelets in loose spikes 9. C. lagunetto.
Style 3-cleft.
A. Rachilla of the spikelet deciduous.
Rachilla breaking up into 1-fruited joints.
Spikelets about 3 mm. thick 10. C. Hayesii.
Spikelets 1-1.5 mm. thick.
Spikelets loosely spicate 11. C. ferax.
Spikelets crowded into a few dense heads.
12. C. oxycarioides.
Rachilla not breaking up into joints.
Spikelets usually containing 5-10 nutlets.
Spikelets brown or reddish.
Leaves 5-6 mm. wide 13. C. brunneus.
Leaves 15-20 mm. wide 14. C. saturatus.
Spikelets yellowish or greenish.
Spikelets crowded in a dense head 15. C. divergens.
Spikelets loosely spicate.
Spikelets stout, 1.5-2 mm. thick . . 16. C. panamensis.
Spikelets almost filiform 17. C. caracasanus.
Spikelets containing 1-4 nutlets.
Spikes of the rays digitately compound.
Spikes 8 mm. or less in diameter, comparatively lax.
18. C. incompletus.
Spikes more than 10 mm. in diameter, very dense.
19. C. ligularis.
Spikes of the ray simple.
Spikelets crowded into a dense rounded head.
15. C. divergens.
Spikelets in umbellate spikes.
Spikelets containing a single achene .... 20. C. Haenkei.
Spikelets containing 2 or more achenes.
Spikes very short, headlike 21. C. globulosus.
Spikes elongate, cylindric.
CYPERACEAE OF CENTRAL AMERICA 245
Lowest empty scale much shorter than the upper
ones 22. C. cyperoides.
Lowest empty scale equaling or exceeding the
others.
Spikes very dense, the spikelets ascending, tur-
gid 23. C. cayennensis.
Spikes lax, the spikelets divaricate, not turgid.
Spikes digitate 24. C. hermaphroditus.
Spikes subumbellate 25. C. Meyenianus.
AA. Rachilla of the spikelet persistent.
B. Spikelets spicate.
Stamens persistent, elongate in age 26. C. prolixus.
Stamens deciduous, not elongate in age.
Culms terete or nearly so, naked.
Culms septate; bracts scalelike 27. C. articulatus.
Culms not septate; bracts long, leaflike.28. C. giganteus.
Culms 3-angled, leafy, at least below.
Spikelets purple or castaneous 29. C. rotundus.
Spikelets green, yellow, or yellow-brown.
Spikelets 5-8 mm. long.
Spikelets 12-20-flowered 30. C. radiatus.
Spikelets mostly 3-5-flowered 31. C. spectabilis.
Spikelets 10-20 mm. long or longer.
Scales acute or acuminate 32. C. compressus.
Scales obtuse.
Spikelets about 1 mm. wide 33. C. distans.
Spikelets 1.5-2 mm. wide.
Rachilla winged ; plants perennial.
34. C. esculentus.
Rachilla not winged; plants annual.
35. C. sphacelatus.
BB. Spikelets digitate or capitate.
Spikelets crowded in a single dense head.
Scales obtuse, white 36. C. tenerrimus.
Scales acute, green 37. C. humilis.
Spikelets not in a single head.
Plants annual.
246 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — BOTANY, VOL. VIII
Scales green 32. C. compressus.
Scales brown or reddish 38. C. undnatus.
Plants perennial.
Culms leafless 39. C. canus.
Culms leafy below.
Spikelets mostly ovate, the scales usually obtuse.
Leaves appearing lineolate because of the transverse
septa 40. C. virens.
Leaves not transverse-septate.
Spikelets ovate.
Spikelets in very dense, subglobose heads.
41. C.Luzulae.
Spikelets in loose heads .... 42. C. surinamensis.
Spikelets linear-oblong or oblong-lanceolate.
43. C. ochraceus.
Spikelets linear or oblong, several times as long as
broad, the scales acute or acuminate.
Stamen 1; culm shorter than the rays of the umbel.
44. C. simplex.
Stamens 2-3; culms longer than the rays of the
umbel.
Spikelets 1-2 mm. wide.
Scales closely appressed and imbricate.
45. C. haspan.
Scales loose, distant 46. C. chorisanthus.
Spikelets 2-3 mm. wide.
Spikelets green.
Leaves flat 47. C. diffusus.
Leaves convolute 48. C. elegans.
Spikelets vinaceous 49. C. nubigenus.
1. Cyperus flavescens L. Sp. PI. 46. 1753. Pycreits flavescens
Beauv. ex Reichenb. Fl. Excurs. 1: 72. 1830-32. ?C. squalidus
Liebm. Dansk. Vid. Selsk. Skrivt. V. 2: 199. 1851. C. Durandii
Boeckl. Allgem. Bot. Zeitschr. 1: 185. 1895. C. Tonduzianus Boeckl.
op. cit. 187. 1895.
Honduras; Nicaragua; Costa Rica; Panama; in fields or moist
soil, sometimes growing in pine forest, ranging from sea level to
1,400 m. Tropical and temperate regions of both hemispheres.
Plants annual, the culms tufted, very slender, 2-30 cm. long;
leaves 1-2 mm. wide; bracts longer than the umbel; spikelets 5-20
CYPERACEAE OF CENTRAL AMERICA 247
mm. long, 2-3 mm. wide, yellowish, digitate or short-spicate; scales
obtuse, closely appressed; achene obovoid, blackish.
Cyperus squalidus and C. Durandii were described from San
Jose", Costa Rica, and C. Tonduziamis from Costa Rica.
2. Cyperus unioloides R. Br. Prodr. Fl. Nov. Holl. 216. 1810.
C. bromoides Link, Jahrb. 3: 85. 1820. Pycreus angulatus Nees,
Linnaea9:283. 1834.
Guatemala; Nicaragua; Costa Rica; Panama; in swamps, at
about 1,300 m., and probably also at lower elevations. Mexico;
Cuba and Hispaniola; South America; Asia, Africa, and Australia.
Plants with elongate rhizomes; culms slender, 30-100 cm. high;
leaves 2-5 mm. wide; bracts long and leaflike; spikelets 10-15 mm.
long, yellowish, short-spicate and umbellate or in a single dense
cluster; scales acute, closely appressed; achene obovoid, compressed,
black, smooth.
3. Cyperus odoratus L. Sp. PI. 46. 1753. Pycreus polystachyus
Beauv. Fl. Owar. 2: 48. pi. 86, f. 2. 1807. C. polystachyus R. Br.
Prodr. Fl. Nov. Holl. 214. 1810. P. odoratus Urban, Symb. Antill.
2:164.1900.
Panama; growing in ditches near sea level. Tropical regions of
both hemispheres.
Plants usually with fibrous roots, the culms 20-80 cm. high;
leaves 2-5 mm. wide; spikelets spicate, 1-2 cm. long, stramineous,
the scales acutish; achene oblong, compressed, blackish.
4. Cyperus paniculatus Rottb. Descr. & Icon. 40. 1773.
Guatemala; Honduras; Salvador; Panama; at 900 m. or less, in
moist fields or on sandy flats. Mexico, Cuba, Jamaica, and South
America; also in the Old World.
Plants annual, the culms very slender, tufted, 2-15 cm. high;
leaves 1-1.5 mm. wide; spikelets in short lax umbellate spikes, linear,
5-12 mm. long, the scales very obtuse, green or brownish; bracts long
and leaflike; achenes obovoid-oblong, blackish.
Called "pelillo" in Salvador.
5. Cyperus fugax Liebm. Dansk. Vid. Selsk. Skrivt. V. 2: 196.
1851.
Salvador; Costa Rica; in sand at low elevations. Mexico;
Jamaica.
A small tufted annual about 5 cm. high; leaves narrowly linear;
umbel few-rayed, the rays very short, the few spikelets spreading, in
short lax spikes; bracts longer than the umbel; spikelets linear, §-12
mm. long, greenish, 10-18-flowered, the scales obliquely spreading,
apiculate; achene compressed, obovate, castaneous, obtuse and apicu-
late, obscurely puncticulate.
248 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — BOTANY, VOL. VIII
6. Cyperus Olfersianus Kunth, Enum. PL 2: 10. 1837. Pycreus
propinquus Nees in Mart. Fl. Bras. 21: 7. 1842.
Salvador; Costa Rica; Panama; in wet soil. Mexico, West
Indies, and South America; Africa.
Plants with slender rhizomes, the culms slender, tufted, 20-80
cm. long; leaves 1-3 mm. wide; bracts about 3, 15 cm. long or less;
spikelets in a single head, 1-2 cm. long, yellowish, linear, the scales
obtuse; achene obovoid, smooth, castaneous.
7. Cyperus Humboldtianus Schult. in R. & S. Syst. Veg. 2:
Mant. 100. 1824. C. densus Link, Jahrb. 3: 83. 1820, non R. Br.
1814. C. helms Liebm. Dansk. Vid. Selsk. Skrivt. V. 2: 197. 1851.
Pycreus helms Clarke in Urban, Symb. Antill. 2: 164. 1900. P.
densus Urban, Symb. Antill. 2: 164. 1900.
Guatemala; Salvador; Costa Rica; in wet soil, at 1,350 m. or less.
Plants perennial, with rhizomes; leaves 2-3 mm. wide; bracts
long and leaflike; spikes short and dense, headlike, umbellate; spike-
lets 4-20-flowered, 1 cm. long or less, the scales obtuse; achene
smooth, brown or castaneous.
8. Cyperus melanostachyus HBK. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 1: 207.
1815. C. variegetus HBK. op. cit. 208. 1815. C. cimidnus Presl, Rel.
Haenk. 1: 166. 1830. C. elegantulus Steud. Flora 25: 583. 1842.
C. diandrus var. capitatus Britton, Bull. Torrey Club 13: 205. 1886.
Pycreus elegantulus Clarke in Dur. & Schinz, Fl. Afr. 5: 536. 1895.
P. melanostachyus Clarke, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 10: 446. 1908.
P. melanostachyus var. variegatus Clarke, loc. cit.
Guatemala; Nicaragua; Costa Rica; in moist soil, on wet banks
or in pastures, at 300-2,560 m. Southern California and Mexico;
South America.
Plants with rhizomes, the culms slender, 10-40 cm. high; leaves
1-2 mm. wide; bracts long and leaflike; spikelets 1 cm. long or less,
2-3 mm. wide, often nearly black, the scales usually closely appressed;
achene ellipsoid, castaneous.
Clarke maintained C. cimidnus (C. elegantulus) as a distinct
species, separated by its narrower spikelets, but it does not appear
practicable to separate the two forms satisfactorily. The plant is
very common in the moist or wet, high mountain pastures of Costa
Rica, where it is noticeable because of the dark color of its spikelets.
9. CyperuslagunettoSteud.Syn.Pl. Glum. 2:5. 1855. Pycreus
lagunetto Clarke, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 10: 446. 1908.
Guatemala; Costa Rica; in wet soil, often on moist open banks,
at 1,000-1,300 m. South America.
Culms densely tufted, 15 cm. high or less; leaves 1-2 mm. wide;
umbels very lax, the spikelets usually few, 6-15 mm. long, nearly 3
mm. wide, strongly compressed, the scales obtuse; achene obovoid,
smooth, blackish.
CYPERACEAE OF CENTRAL AMERICA 249
10. Cyperus Hayesii (Clarke) Standl. Journ. Washington Acad.
Sci. 15: 457. 1925. Torulinium Hayesii Clarke, Kew Bull. Add. Ser.
8:20.1908.
Described from Panama.
Rhizome none; culms 30-60 cm. high; leaves 5-7 mm. wide;
spikes 3 cm. long or less, lax, simply umbellate, the spikelets linear,
15 mm. long, containing about 14 achenes, the scales imbricate or
obliquely spreading, 3-4 mm. long; achene 2 mm. long, black.
11. Cyperus ferax L. Rich. Act. Soc. Hist. Nat. Paris 1: 105.
1792. Torulinium confertum Hamilt. Prodr. Ind. Occ. 15. 1825.
Mariscus Pohlianus Nees in Mart. Fl. Bras. 21: 50. 1842. C. grana-
dinus Liebm. Vid. Selsk. Skrivt. V. 2: 224. 1851. C. laetus var.
obtusiflorus Boeckl. Allgem. Bot. Zeitschr. 2: 2. 1896.
British Honduras; Guatemala; Honduras; Salvador; Nicaragua;
Costa Rica; Panama; in moist or wet soil, often a weed in cultivated
ground, at 1,400 m. or less. Generally distributed in tropical and
subtropical regions.
Plants perennial, the culms stout, 15-80 cm. high; leaves 5-7
mm. wide, shorter than the culms; bracts large and leaflike; umbel
compound, the spikelets loosely spicate, linear, subterete, 10-15
mm. long or even larger, yellow or brownish, the scales 2 mm. long,
striate; rachilla winged; achene black, oblong.
Cyperus granadinus was described from Granada, Nicaragua.
C. Oerstedii Liebm. (Dansk. Vid. Selsk. Skrivt. V. 2: 224. 1851),
described from Segovia, Nicaragua, is referred by Clarke to C.
Vahlii (Nees) Steud., which probably is not distinct from C. ferax.
This species is one of the most abundant weeds of Central
America, and may be seen almost anywhere at middle and lower
elevations, except in virgin forest. The plant is a very variable one.
In Salvador it is known by the names "coyolillo" and "zacate de
corona," and in Panama as "junco."
12. Cyperus oxycarioides Britton, Bull. Torrey Club 11: 86.
1884.
Guatemala (Boca de Polochic, at 60 m.); Honduras (Tela, at sea
level). Also in Texas.
Plants annual (?), the culms 50-100 cm. high; leaves 3-8 mm.
wide; bracts long and leaflike; spikes very dense and congested, mostly
sessile, the spikelets linear, subterete, 6-10 mm. long, 8-12-flowered,
the scales 2 mm. long, obtuse, striate; achenes oblong-obovoid, 1.5
mm. long, brown.
13. Cyperus brunneus Sw. Fl. Ind. Occ. 1: 116. 1797.
Honduras (Holbox Island). Florida and the West Indies.
Plants with horizontal rhizomes, the culms 10-60 cm. high; leaves
often longer than the culms; bracts long and leaflike; umbels few-
250 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — BOTANY, VOL. VIII
rayed, the spikes short and dense, often sessile; spikelets 1 cm. long
or less, 2-3 mm. wide, brown, 5-8-flowered, the scales obtuse; achene
obovoid, 3-angulate.
14. Cyperus saturatus Clarke, Bot. Jahrb. Engler 37: 517.
1906. Mariscus saturatus Donn. Smith ex Clarke, Contr. U. S. Nat.
Herb. 10: 453. 1908.
Costa Rica, at 250-650 m. ; type from Jimenez, Llanos de Santa
Clara, on the Atlantic slope.
Plants perennial, stout, the culms about 60 cm. high; leaves large,
3-nerved; bracts long and leaflike; umbel compound, rather dense,
the spikelets in clusters of 3-8, reddish brown, 12-20-flowered, 10-15
mm. long and nearly 3 mm. wide, compressed, the scales acute; achene
ellipsoid, dark brown.
15. Cyperus divergens HBK. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 1: 208. 1815.
C. mammae HBK. op. cit. 209. 1815. C. triceps Nees, Linnaea 19:
697. 1847. C. asperrimus Liebm. Dansk. Vid. Selsk. Skrivt. V. 2:
30. 1851. C. apiculatus Liebm. op. cit. 32. 1851. Mariscus mani-
mae Clarke, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 10: 452. 1908. M. manimae
var. divergens Clarke, loc. cit. 1908.
Guatemala; Costa Rica; at 750-1,400 m. Mexico; South America.
Plants slender, with short thick rhizomes, the culms 20-50 cm.
high; leaves about 1 mm. wide; bracts leaflike; spikes very dense,
usually crowded in a dense head, sometimes pedunculate, yellow-
green; spikelets 3-7-flowered, the scales obtuse, finally spreading;
achene ellipsoid, trigonous, blackish.
Mariscus guatemalensis Clarke (Kew Bull. Add. Ser. 8: 16. 1908,
non C. guatemalensis Steud. 1855), described from Guatemala, is,
according to Clarke, perhaps a synonym of this. It is said to have
chestnut-red scales, and is probably the same as C. Hartwegianus
Britton, which, apparently, is the plant called by Clarke (Contr.
U. S. Nat. Herb. 10: 452. 1908) Mariscus manimae var. Hartwegianus.
16. Cyperus panamensis (Clarke) Britton ex Standl. Journ.
Washington Acad. Sci. 15: 457. 1925. Manscus panamensis Clarke,
Kew Bull. Add. Ser. 8: 15. 1908.
Guatemala; Salvador; Panama; at 300 m. or less; type from
Panama. Also in Colombia.
Plants perennial, the culms stout, 20-50 cm. high; leaves 3-5
mm. wide; bracts large and leaflike; spikes dense, short-cylindric,
simply umbellate, the spikelets yellowish, 3-5-flowered, 1 cm. long
or less, the scales obtuse; achene oblong, trigonous.
Called "coyolillo" in Salvador.
17. Cyperus caracasanus Kunth, Enum. PI. 2: 86. 1837. Mar-
iscus flabettiformis HBK. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 1: 215. 1815, non C.
CYPERACEAE OF CENTRAL AMERICA 251
flabelliformis Rottb. 1773. C. breviradiatus Liebm. Dansk. Vid.
Selsk. Skrivt. V. 2: 26. 1851. C. Hartii Boeckl. Cyp. Nov. 1: 9.
1888.
Guatemala; Honduras; Salvador; Costa Rica; Panama; in moist
or wet soil, at 2,400 m. or less. Mexico, West Indies, and South
America; Africa and Asia.
Plants with short thick rhizomes, the culms 20-50 cm. high;
leaves 1.5-3 mm. wide; bracts long and leaflike; spikes simply
umbellate, dense, the spikelets greenish or yellowish, about 7 mm.
long, 3-8-flowered, the scales obtuse, striate; achene linear-oblong.
The names applied to the plant in Central America are "coyolillo"
in Salvador and "junco" in Panama. The name "mulinillo" is
reported from Mexico.
18. Cyperus incompletus (Jacq.) Link, Hort. Berol. 1: 319.
1827. Kyllinga incomplete, Jacq. Coll. Bot. 4: 101. 1790. Mariscus
Mutisii HBK. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 1: 216. pi. 66. 1815. C. Mutisii
Griseb. Fl. Brit. W. Ind. 567. 1864. C. Ehrenbergianus Boeckl.
Linnaea 36: 391. 1869-70. C. Randuzii (Tonduzii) Boeckl. Allgem.
Bot. Zeitschr. 2: 17. 1896. M. Ehrenbergianus Clarke, Contr. U. S.
Nat. Herb. 10:452. 1908.
Guatemala; Salvador; Nicaragua; Costa Rica; Panama; in moist
or wet soil at 1,300 m. or less. Widely distributed in tropical
America.
Plants perennial, with short rhizomes, the culms 30-100 cm. high;
leaves 4-8 mm. wide; bracts long and leaflike; spikes in compound
umbels, dense, cylindric, the spikelets 3-5 mm. long, 1-3-flowered,
divaricate, green, the scales obtuse or acutish, closely appressed;
achene oblong or ellipsoid, trigonous, yellow-brown.
Cyperus Randuzii was described from San Jose", Costa Rica.
The name "jacintillo zacate" is reported for this species from Costa
Rica, and "coquillo" from Mexico.
19. Cyperus ligularis L. Amoen. Acad. 5: 391. 1759. Mariscus
rufus HBK. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 1: 216. pi. 67. 1815.
Guatemala; Honduras; Salvador; Costa Rica; Panama; in moist
soil at or near sea level. Generally distributed in tropical America.
Plants coarse and stout, with very short or no rhizomes, often
forming dense clumps, the culms as much as 1 m. high; leaves 5-10
mm. wide, thick, usually transverse-lineolate; bracts long and leaf-
like; spikes in compound umbels, short and very dense, the spikelets
5 mm. long or less, red-brown, the scales obtuse, striate, closely
appressed; achene narrowly obovoid, triquetrous, castaneous.
Called "cortadera" in Panama and "tul coyolillo" in Guatemala.
20. Cyperus Haenkei Presl, Rel. Haenk. 1: 181. 1830. C. Pittieri
Boeckl. Allgem. Bot. Zeitschr. 2: 19. 1896.
252 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY— BOTANY, VOL. VIII
Costa Rica; at sea level. California and Mexico.
Plants perennial, the leaves narrow; spikes short, mostly sessile,
the spikelets crowded, linear-oblong, brownish, 3 mm. long, the
scales acutish, striate; rachilla winged; achene linear-oblong.
Cyperus Pittieri was described from Costa Rica.
21. Cyperus globulosus Aubl. PI. Guian. 1: 47. 1775. Mariscus
echinatus Ell. Bot. S. C. & Ga. 1: 75. 1816.
Panama; on rocks at sea level. United States, West Indies,
and South America.
Plants slender, with short rhizomes, the culms 15-50 cm. long;
leaves 2-4 mm. wide; bracts elongate and leaflike; spikes subglobose,
simply umbellate or crowded in a small head, the spikelets 5-6 mm.
long, crowded, greenish, 3-5-flowered; achene narrowly obovoid,
trigonous, blackish.
22. Cyperus cyperoides (L.) Britton, Bull. Dept. Agr. Jamaica
5: Suppl. 1: 8. 1907. Scirpus cyperoides L. Mant. PL 181. 1771.
Mariscus Sieberianus Nees, Linnaea 9: 286. 1834. M. Sieberianus
var. evolutior Clarke in Hook. f. Fl. Brit. Ind. 6: 622. 1894.
Guatemala; Honduras; Salvador; Costa Rica; at about 900 m.
West Indies; Old World.
Plants perennial, the rhizomes short or none, the culms 20-80
cm. high; leaves 3-6 mm. wide; bracts long and leaflike; spikes
simply umbellate, sometimes sessile, very dense, the spikelets 1-3-
flowered, green or yellowish, the scales obtuse; achene oblong, trigo-
nous, blackish.
23. Cyperus cayennensis (Lam.) Britton, Bull. Dept. Agr.
Jamaica 5: Suppl. 1: 8. 1907. Kyllinga cayennensis Lam. 111. 1: 149.
1791. Mariscus flaws Vahl, Enum. PI. 2: 374. 1806. C. flams Nees,
Linnaea 19: 698. 1847.
British Honduras; Guatemala; Salvador; Nicaragua; Panama;
at 900 m. or less. Texas, Mexico, West Indies and South America;
western Africa.
Plants with short rhizomes, the culms stout or slender, 20-70
cm. high; leaves 3-7 mm. wide; bracts long and leaflike; spikes simply
umbellate, often sessile, cylindric, very dense, yellowish, the spikelets
turgid, 1-2-flowered, the scales acutish, striate; achene oblong-
obovoid, triquetrous, brownish.
24. Cyperus hermaphroditus (Jacq.) Standl. Contr. U. S. Nat.
Herb. 18: 88. 1916. Carex hermaphrodita Jacq. Coll. Bot. 4: 174.
1790. Mariscus Jacquinii HBK. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 1: 216. 1815.
C. thyrsiflorus Jungh. Linnaea 6: 24. 1831. C. Randuzii var. tennis
Boeckl. Allgem. Bot. Zeitschr. 2: 17. 1896.
Guatemala; Salvador; Honduras; Nicaragua; Costa Rica;
Panama; in moist soil at 1,350 m. or less. Mexico, West Indies, and
South America.
CYPERACEAE OF CENTRAL AMERICA 253
Plants perennial, with short rhizomes, the culms mostly stout,
30^80 cm. high; leaves 4-8 mm. wide; bracts long and leaflike;
spikes loose, usually simply umbellate, elongate, the spikelets green
or yellow, divaricate, 5-9 mm. long, 2-4-flowered, the scales obtuse;
achene narrowly ellipsoid, trigonous, brown.
Cyperus dissitiflorus Vahl, reported (as Mariscus dissitiflorus
Clarke) from Costa Rica by Clarke, seems to be scarcely more than
a form of this species.
25. Cyperus Meyenianus Kunth, Enum. PL 2: 88. 1837. Maris-
cus Meyenianus Nees in Mart. Fl. Bras. 21: 49. 1842.
Salvador. Ranging from Mexico and the West Indies to South
America.
Plants with short rhizomes; culms 20-40 cm. high; leaves 6-7
mm. wide; umbels 10-12-rayed, the rays 3-7 cm. long, the spikes
solitary or 2-3-umbellulate, 10-15 mm. thick, dense; spikelets 6-8
mm. long, 1 mm. wide, spreading at right angles, containing 3-4
nutlets; scales oblong-elliptic, obtuse; achene linear-oblong.
Known in Salvador by the name "coyolillo."
26. Cyperus prolixus HBK. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 1: 206. 1815.
Guatemala; Costa Rica; Panama; in swamps, growing in water,
at 1,300 m. or less. Mexico and South America.
Plants perennial, the culms very stout, 1-1.5 m. high or more;
leaves long, 1-2 cm. wide; bracts large and leaflike; umbels large
and much branched, the spikelets loosely spicate, about 1.5 cm.
long, greenish or brownish, the scales lax, acute; achene linear-
oblong, triquetrous, brownish.
27. Cyperus articulatus L. Sp. PI. 44. 1753.
Guatemala; Honduras; Salvador; Nicaragua; Costa Rica;
Panama (according to Kuntze); in wet soil, sometimes growing in
water, at or near sea level. Generally distributed in tropical regions.
Plants perennial, stoloniferous, the culms terete, spongy, some-
times 2 m. long; leaves reduced to basal sheaths; spikelets loosely
spicate, in large umbels, linear, 1-4 cm. long, 12-50-flowered, yellow-
ish or brownish, the scales obtuse; rachilla winged; achene oblong,
trigonous, black.
In Salvador, where it is called "sontul," the plant is said to be
employed as a remedy for toothache. The name "enea" is reported
from Venezuela.
28. Cyperus giganteus Vahl, Enum. PI. 2: 364. 1805.
British Honduras (according to Hemsley); Honduras; Salvador;
Nicaragua (according to Hemsley); Panama; in swamps, near sea
level. Mexico, Greater Antilles, and South America.
Plants large and stout, the culms 1-2 m. high; leaves reduced to
basal sheaths; bracts long and leaflike, 1-2 cm. wide; umbels very
254 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — BOTANY, VOL. VIII
large, the spikes elongate, lax, the spikelets slender, 1 cm. long or
less, 8-14-flowered, stramineous, the scales obtuse; rachilla winged;
achene oblong-ellipsoid, trigonous, blackish.
The plant often forms extensive and dense colonies in open swamps
near the coast, attracting attention because of its luxuriant growth.
In general appearance it is very much like the papyrus of the Nile.
29. Cyperus rotundus L. Sp. PI. 45. 1753.
British Honduras; Guatemala; Honduras; Panama; at or near
sea level. Tropical and subtropical regions of both hemispheres.
A perennial, with rhizomes, these sometimes tuber-bearing, the
culms slender, 10-60 cm. high, bulbous-thickened at the base; leaves
3-6 mm. wide; bracts usually short; spikes lax, the spikelets few,
linear, 1-2 cm. long, 20-30-flowered, the scales obtuse, closely
appressed; rachilla winged; achene ellipsoid, trigonous, black.
30. Cyperus radiatus Vahl, Enum. PI. 2: 369. 1806.
Guatemala; Costa Rica. Warmer regions of both hemispheres.
Culms stout, 50-100 cm. long; leaves 6y-9 mm. wide; bracts
long and leaflike; spikes elongate, dense, the spikelets 12-30-flowered,
yellowish or brownish, the scales obtuse; rachilla winged; achene
ovoid or ellipsoid, trigonous, blackish.
31. Cyperus spectabilis Schreb. ex R. & S. Syst. Veg. 2: 208.
1817, nomen nudum; Link, Hort. Berol. 1: 318. 1827; Boeckl.
Linnaea 35: 605. 1868.
Honduras; in moist fields at 1,400 m. Mexico.
Plants perennial, 30-60 cm. high, slender; leaves 2-4 mm. wide;
bracts long and leaflike; spikes short and dense, almost headlike,
the spikelets mostly 3-5-flowered, yellowish brown, the scales
rounded, very obtuse, somewhat spreading; achenes oblong-obovate,
3-angled, obtuse, usually fuscous.
32. Cyperus compressus L. Sp. PI. 46. 1753.
Guatemala; Honduras; Salvador; Nicaragua; Costa Rica; at or
near sea level. Warmer regions of both hemispheres.
Plants annual, slender, the culms tufted, 10^40 cm. high; leaves
2-3 mm. wide, the sheaths reddish; spikelets few, in short spikes, or
often digitate, 1-2.5 cm. long, 3-5 mm. wide, 4-40-flowered, green;
rachilla not winged; achene obovoid, triquetrous, black.
33. Cyperus distans L. f. Suppl. PI. 103. 1781.
Nicaragua (according to Hemsley). Warmer regions of both
hemispheres.
Plants perennial, stoloniferous, the culms 40-100 cm. high;
leaves 6-10 mm. wide; bracts long and leaflike; spikelets 2-3 cm.
long, 10-20-flowered, reddish, the scales remote; rachilla very
narrowly winged; achene oblong, trigonous, blackish.
CYPERACEAE OF CENTRAL AMERICA 255
34. Cyperus esculentus L. Sp. PI. 45. 1753. C. fulvescens
Liebm. Vid. Selsk. Skrivt. V. 2: 22. 1851.
Salvador; Nicaragua (according to Hemsley); Costa Rica;
Panama; in sand along the coast. Mexico; temperate and tropical
regions of both hemispheres.
Plants perennial, stoloniferous, the stolons ending in small tubers,
the culms solitary, 20-60 cm. high; leaves 2-7 mm. wide; bracts
leaflike; spikes lax, the spikes linear, 1-2 cm. long, yellowish; achene
obovoid, trigonous.
This species is sometimes cultivated, under the name "chufa,"
for the sweet edible tubers.
35. Cyperus sphacelatus Rottb. Descr. & Icon. 26. 1773.
Costa Rica; Panama; at or near sea level. Widely distributed
in the warmer parts of America and in Africa.
Culms slender, tufted, 10-60 cm. high; leaves 3-5 mm. wide;
bracts long and leaflike; spikelets few, loosely spicate, 1-2.5 cm. long,
about 3 mm. wide, green or yellowish; achene obovoid, triquetrous,
black.
36. Cyperus tenerrimus Presl, Rel. Haenk. 1: 166. 1830. C.
Schomburgkianus Nees in Hook. Journ. Bot. 2 : 393. 1840. C. cymbae-
formis Liebm. Dansk. Vid. Selsk. Skrivt. V. 2: 20. 1851.
Guatemala; Honduras; Salvador; Nicaragua; Costa Rica; moist
soil, at 1,400 m. or less. Mexico; northern South America.
Plants apparently perennial, with fibrous roots, the culms
slender, 10-20 cm. high, bulbous-thickened at the base; leaves 1-2
mm. wide; bracts 4-8, very long and leaflike; spikelets crowded in a
small dense head, nearly white, ovate, compressed, the scales curved,
obtuse; achene oblong, trigonous, whitish.
One Guatemalan collection has been determined as C. seslerioides
HBK., a Mexican species of which I have seen no Central American
material. The name "pelillo" is applied to this species in Salvador.
37. Cyperus humilis Kunth, Enum. PI. 2: 23. 1837. C. humilis
var. elatior Britton, Bull. Torrey Club 15: 99. 1888.
Guatemala; in wet soil at 350-1,350 m. Mexico; Martinique; Cuba.
Plants annual, the culms tufted, 5-14 cm. high; leaves 2-3 mm.
wide; bracts leaflike; spikelets oblong, numerous, crowded in a dense
head, 1 cm. long or less, about 40-flowered, pale green, strongly com-
pressed, the scales acute, 3-nerved; achene narrowly obovoid, trigo-
nous, black.
38. Cyperus uncinatus Poir. in Lam. Encycl. 7: 247. 1806.
C. cuspidatus HBK. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 1: 247. 1815.
Guatemala; Salvador; Costa Rica; in moist soil, at 750-1,200 m.
In the warmer regions of both hemispheres.
256 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — BOTANY, VOL. VIII
Culms very slender, tufted, 5-15 cm. high; leaves 1-2 mm. wide-
bracts leaflike; umbels simple, the spikelets loosely clustered, 1 cm.
long or less, 1.5 mm. wide, 15-50-flowered, the scales mucronate;
acuminate, oblique; achene oblong-obovoid, trigonous, pale.
Some of the Central American specimens were determined by
Clarke as C. amaMlis Vahl, but they do not differ appreciably from
others that he determined as C. uncinatus. Central American
material referred to C. glareosus Liebm. appears to be referable to
C. uncinatus.
39. Cyperus canus Presl, Rel. Haenk. 1: 179. 1830.
Guatemala; Salvador; Costa Rica. Mexico.
Plants stout, perennial, the culms about 1 m. high; leaves reduced
to sheaths; bracts leaflike, about 1 cm. wide; umbels large, com-
pound, the spikelets very numerous, linear-oblong, 1 cm. long, the
scales brownish or reddish, acute, closely appressed; achenes minute,
ellipsoid, trigonous, brownish.
In Salvador, where it is called "tule," "tul de petate," and "tul
silvestre," this plant is of substantial economic importance, and it is
sometimes cultivated in fields of considerable extent. The outer
part of the culms is used in large amounts for making petates or mats,
especially those employed on beds as mattresses. The inner soft
portion of the culm is used for making less durable articles, such as
fans for blowing up fires, bottle crates, etc.
The very similar Cyperus alternifolius L., or umbrella-plant,
native of Madagascar, is cultivated commonly for ornament in
Central American gardens. In Salvador it is known by the name
"tule de jardin."
40. Cyperus virens Michx. Fl. Bor. Amer. 1: 28. 1803.
Guatemala (according to Hemsley); Costa Rica; in moist soil,
at 900-2,100 m. United States, Mexico, West Indies, and South
America.
Plants perennial, with short rhizomes, the culms stout, 1 m.
high or less; leaves 6-9 mm. wide, thick; umbel compound, the
spikelets very numerous, 12 mm. long or less, 3-4 mm. wide, greenish,
the scales obtuse; achene ellipsoid, trigonous, pale brownish.
Known in Costa Rica by the name "junco."
41. Cyperus Luzulae (L.) Retz. Obs. Bot. 4: 11. 1786. Scirpus
Luzulae L. Sp. PI. ed. 2. 75. 1762. ?C. guatemalensis Gandog. Bull.
Soc. Bot. France 66: 297. 1920, non Steud. 1855.
British Honduras; Guatemala; Honduras; Nicaragua; Costa Rica;
Panama; in moist or wet soil, at 900 m. or less. Widely distributed
in tropical America.
CYPERACEAE OF CENTRAL AMERICA 257
Plants perennial, with short woody rhizomes, the culms 1 m.
high or less, stout; leaves 3-7 mm. wide; bracts 6-10, long and
leaflike; umbels chiefly simple, dense, the spikelets densely capitate,
3-4 mm. long, 2-3 mm. wide, brownish, 6-10-flpwered, strongly
compressed, the scales obtuse; achene oblong, trigonous, whitish.
Called "junco" in Panama, and "mulinillo" in Tabasco.
42. Cyperus surinamensis Rottb. Descr. 35. pi. 6, /. 5. 1773.
British Honduras; Guatemala; Honduras; Salvador; Nicaragua;
Costa Rica; Panama; in swamps or wet soil, at 1,200 m. or less.
Generally distributed in tropical America.
Plants perennial, the culms 20-60 cm. high; leaves 2-3 mm.
wide; bracts long and leaflike; umbels simple or compound, the
spikelets numerous, 4-11 mm. long, 2-3 mm. wide, 30-40-flowered,
greenish or yellowish, the scales apiculate; achenes minute, ellipsoid,
trigonous, brownish.
43. Cyperus ochraceus Vahl, Enum. PL 2: 325. 1805.
Guatemala; Honduras; in thickets or sandy places, near sea
level. Widely distributed in tropical America.
Perennial, rather stout, 30-60 cm. high or more; leaves up to
6 mm. wide; bracts numerous, spreading, some of them much longer
than the compound or simple umbel ; umbel rays 15 cm. long or less,
the spikelets numerous, capitate, compressed, obtuse, many-flowered,
5-12 mm. long, 2 mm. wide; scales yellow, subobtuse; stamen 1;
achene ovoid, 3-angled, narrowed at each end.
44. Cyperus simplex HBK. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 1: 207. 1815.
Costa Rica; Panama; in forests or fields, at 300 m. or less. Mexico;
northern South America.
Plants perennial, with rhizomes, the culms 2-15 cm. long, slender;
leaves long, 3-7 mm. wide; bracts very long and leaflike; umbels
simple, the rays mostly 10-20 cm. long; spikelets 1-3 at the end of
each ray, 1-2 cm. long, 15-40-flowered, strongly compressed, pale,
the scales glandular; achene obovoid, truncate, trigonous, whitish.
The name given to this plant in Panama is "junco."
45. Cyperus haspan L. Sp. PI. 45. 1753. C. efoliatus Boeckl.
Allgem. Bot. Zeitschr. 1: 226. 1895.
Guatemala; Honduras; Costa Rica; in swamps or wet soil, at
1,500 m. or less. Warmer regions of both hemispheres.
Plants perennial, with rhizomes, the culms 10-70 cm. long;
leaves mostly short and reduced to sheaths; bracts commonly 2
and shorter than the umbel, sometimes elongate; umbel usually
compound, the spikelets numerous, .5-15 mm. long, 10-40-flowered,
compressed, green or reddish, the scales obtuse; achene ovoid or
obovoid, trigonous, whitish.
Called "junco" in Panama.
258 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — BOTANY, VOL. VIII
46. Cyperus chorisanthus Clarke, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb.
10: 449. 1908.
Type from forests of Boruca, Costa Rica, at 460 m.
Plants perennial, with thick woody rhizomes, the culms about
60 cm. high; leaves elongate, 1 cm. wide or less; bracts 5-6, long
and leaflike; umbel large, compound, the spikelets numerous, 8-13
mm. long, about 14-flowered, greenish; achene ellipsoid, trigonous,
black.
47. Cyperus diffusus Vahl, Enum. PI. 2: 321. 1806.
Guatemala; Honduras; Salvador; Nicaragua; Costa Rica; Pan-
ama; in moist or dry soil, usually in forest or thickets, at 1,200 m.
or less. Warmer regions of both hemispheres.
Plants perennial, the culms 30-60 cm. long; leaves numerous,
mm. wide; bracts 4-10, long and leaflike; umbels usually com-
pound, the spikelets few or numerous, 1-2 cm. long, 10-24-flowered,
greenish, the scales mucronate; achene broadly ellipsoid, triquetrous,
blackish.
This species was listed by Hemsley as C. elegans L. In Panama
it is given the name "junquillo."
48. Cyperus elegans L. Sp. PI. 45. 1753. C. viscosus Sw.
Prodr. Fl. Ind. Occ. 20. 1788.
British Honduras; Nicaragua; at or near sea level. Widely distrib-
uted in tropical America.
Plants perennial, viscid, the culms 20-70 cm. long; leaves 2-6
mm. wide; bracts long and leaflike; umbels simple or compound,
the spikelets densely clustered, 9 mm. long or less, about 10-flowered,
greenish, the scales acute; achene broadly obovoid, black.
49. Cyperus nubigenus Britt. & Standl. ex Standl. Journ.
Washington Acad. Sci. 15: 472. 1925.
Costa Rica; type from Las Nubes, Province of San Jose", at 1,900
m., growing on stream banks.
A perennial about 1 m. high; leaves 1-2 cm. wide; bracts numer-
ous, leaflike, equaling the rays, 7-15 mm. wide; primary rays numer-
ous, 4-12 cm. long, the secondary rays very numerous, 1-5 cm.
long; spikelets few or numerous, in dense glomerules at the ends
of the secondary rays, lance-oblong, 1 cm. long, 3 mm. wide; scales
8-11, acute or acuminate, oblique and rather lax, dull-vinaceous,
the keel green; achene 1 mm. long, trigonous, smooth, dull brownish.
DOUBTFUL SPECIES
CYPERUS LIEBMANNI Steud. Syn. PL Glum. 2: 7. 1855. C. incon-
spicuus Liebm. Dansk. Vid. Selsk. Skrivt. V. 2: 197. 1851.
Type from San Jose", Costa Rica.
Annual, the culms 5 cm. high; leaves longer than the culm;
umbel 5-6-rayed, the outer rays 12-15 mm. long, with 6-9 spikes
CYPERACEAE OF CENTRAL AMERICA 259
at the tip; spikelets spicate, spreading, elongate-lanceolate, acute,
4 mm. long, compressed, 6-8-flowered; scales ovate, imbricate, com-
pressed, obtuse, mucronate, rufescent, the keel green.
CYPERUS MACROLEPIS Boeckl. Allgem. Bot. Zeitschr. 1 : 226. 1895.
Type from Costa Rica.
CYPERUS SERTULARINUS Liebm. Dansk. Vid. Selsk. Skrivt. V.
2: 213. 1851.
Type from Masaya, Nicaragua.
Plants with rhizomes, the culms 1 m. high or less; leaves shorter
than the culms, 1 cm. wide; umbel decompound, 10-rayed, the rays
unequal, the spikes numerous, elongate, cylindric, dense; spikelets
very numerous, divergent, easily deciduous, 12 mm. long, compressed,
linear, acute, 7-8-flowered, the scales imbricate, oblong, very shortly
mucronate, fuscous.
3. ELEOCHARIS R. Br.
Plants annual or perennial, the culms simple, terete or angulate;
leaves reduced to sheaths; spikelet solitary, terminal, erect, few- to
many-flowered, not involucrate, the scales spirally imbricate; perianth
of 1-12 bristles, sometimes wanting; stamens 2-3; style 2-3-cleft;
achene biconvex or 3-angulate, the style base persistent as a tubercle.
— About 140 species, widely distributed.
The generic name is written as Heleocharis by some authors.
Scales firm, indurate, scarcely keeled or nerved.
Culms acutely 3-angulate above.
Achene not constricted, gradually prolonged into a cellular
beak 1. E. mutata.
Achene constricted below the summit into a neck about half
the width of the achene 2. E. fistulosa.
Culms terete.
Culms transversely septate 3. E. interstincta.
Culms not septate 4. E. plicarhachis.
Scales thin, keeled or nerved.
Style 2-cleft.
Sheaths scarious at the apex.
Spikelets green or brownish 5. E. flaccida.
Spikelets castaneous 6. E. maculosa.
Sheaths not scarious at the apex.
Plants perennial, with rhizomes 7. E. nodulosa.
Plants annual, with fibrous roots 8. E. caribaea.
Style 3-cleft.
Culms 3-8 mm. thick 9. E. geniculata.
260 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY— BOTANY, VOL. VIII
Culms less than 2.5 mm. thick.
Achene cancellate or longitudinally costate.
Achene longitudinally costate 10. E. acicularis.
Achene cancellate, not costate 11. E. retroflexa.
Achene smooth or obscurely reticulate.
Plants annual.
Culms setaceous, not angulate 12. E. minima.
Culms stout, 4-angulate 13. E. Durandii.
Plants perennial, with rhizomes.
Achenes white or nearly so 14. E. sulcata.
Achenes blackish 15. E. pachystyla.
1. Eleocharis mutata (L.) R. & S. Syst. Veg. 2: 155. 1817.
Sdrpus mutatus L. PL Jam. Pug. 6. 1759.
Guatemala; Costa Rica; Panama; in wet soil, ranging from sea
level to 1,600 m. Widely distributed in tropical and subtropical
America.
Plants with long stolons, the culms 30-70 cm. high, 3-6 mm.
thick, not septate; spikelet 1.5-4 cm. long, 4-6 mm. thick, the scales
obtuse, greenish; bristles longer than the achene; style 3-cleft;
achene dark brown, faintly cancellate, the tubercle broader than the
apex of the achene.
2. Eleocharis fistulosa (Poir.) Link in Spreng. Jahrb. 3: 78.
1820. Scirpus fistulosus Poir. Encycl. 6: 749. 1804.
Reported from Chepo, Panama (Svenson, Rhodora 31: 153.
1929). Widely distributed in tropical America and in Asia and
Africa.
Culms sharply triangular, 40-60 cm. high; sheaths brown, mem-
branous, rather loose, pointed at the summit; spikelets 1.5-3.5 cm.
long, acute; scales straw-colored or gray, obtuse or somewhat acute,
firm, striate; achene 2-2.4 mm. long, obovate, green or light brown,
with deeply pitted, quadrangular cells; bristles usually exceeding
the achene.
3. Eleocharis interstincta (Vahl) R. & S. Syst. Veg. 2: 149.
1817. Scirpus interstinctus Vahl, Enum. PI. 2: 251. 1805.
British Honduras; Guatemala; Panama; in wet soil, ranging from
sea level to 1,200 m. United States, Mexico (?), West Indies, and
South America.
Plants stoloniferous, the culms 40-70 cm. high, about 5 mm.
thick; spikelet 2-4 cm. long, 3-5 mm. thick, obtuse, the scales very
obtuse, greenish; bristles slightly longer than the achene; style
usually 3-cleft; achene pale, faintly striate, the tubercle conic, black.
CYPERACEAE OF CENTRAL AMERICA 261
4. Eleocharis plicarhachis (Griseb.) Svenson, Rhodora 31: 158.
1929. Scirpus plicarhachis Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 239. 1866. E.
variegata var. laxiflora Clarke, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 10: 455. 1908,
non Scirpus laxiflorus Thwaites.
Costa Rica (Buenos Aires, at 200 m.). Tropical America.
Plants stoloniferous, the culms 20-40 cm. high, 2-3 mm. thick;
spikelet 2-2.5 cm. long, about 3 mm. thick, the scales greenish;
bristles about twice as long as the achene; style 3-cleft; achene
minutely reticulate, faintly striate, the tubercle ovoid-pyramidal.
5. Eleocharis flaccida (Reichenb.) Urban, Symb. Antill. 2: 165.
1900. Scirpus flaccidus Reichenb. ex Spreng. Tent. Suppl. 3. 1828.
E. ochreata Steud. Syn. PI. Gyp. 79. 1855. E. albovaginata Boeckl.
Vid. Medd. Kjobenhavn 1869: 133. 1870. E. Tuerckheimii Boeckl.
Gyp. Nov. 1: 16. 1888. E. Pittieri Boeckl. Allgem. Bot. Zeitschr.
2:35.1896.
Guatemala; Honduras; Nicaragua; Costa Rica; in wet soil, at
about 1,300-1,400 m. United States, West Indies, and South
America; Old World tropics.
Rhizome very short or none; culms 5-30 cm. long, about 1 mm.
thick, angulate; spikelet 3-6 mm. long, the scales obtuse, greenish;
bristles equaling the achene, the latter obovate, smooth, brown, the
tubercle small, conic.
Eleocharis Tuerckheimii was described from Coban, Guatemala;
E. Pittieri from San Jose", Costa Rica. A collection of E. flaccida
was reported from Costa Rica by Clarke as E. olivacea Torr.
6. Eleocharis maculosa (Vahl) R. Br. Prodr. Nov. Holl. 224.
1810. Scirpus maculosus Vahl, Enum. PI. 2: 247. 1806.
Guatemala (Alta Verapaz, at 1,350 meters, in wet soil). Southern
United States, West Indies, and South America.
Plants with slender dark stolons, the culms 10-35 cm. high, the
sheaths thin and scarious above; spikelet ovoid, 5-12 mm. long, 3-4
mm. thick, the scales with scarious margins; bristles 7-8, equaling
the achene, retrorsely scabrous, brown; achene obovoid, plano-
convex, castaneous, the tubercle narrow, pale.
7. Eleocharis nodulosa (Roth) Schult. in R. & S. Syst. Veg.
Mant. 2: 87. 1824. Scirpus nodulosus Roth, Nov. PI. Ind. Or. 29.
1821.
Guatemala; Honduras; Salvador; Nicaragua; Costa Rica; Pan-
ama; in wet soil, ranging from sea level to 1,400 m. Widely dis-
tributed in tropical America.
Plants with rhizomes, the culms 20-70 cm. long, rather stout,
2-2.5 mm. thick; spikelet 1-2.5 cm. long, fuscous or purplish; bristles
equaling the achene, the latter ovoid, greenish brown, smooth, the
tubercle small, compressed-pyramidal.
Called "junco" in Costa Rica.
262 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — BOTANY, VOL. VIII
8. Eleocharis caribaea (Rottb.) Blake, Rhodora 20: 24. 1918.
Scirpus caribaeus Rottb. Descr. 24. 1772.
British Honduras; Guatemala; Honduras; Salvador; Nicaragua;
Costa Rica; Panama; in wet soil, at 1,800 m. or less. Generally
distributed in tropical America, and in the Old World.
Culms slender, 5-30 cm. high, tufted, stiff; spikelet ovoid, obtuse,
3-5 mm. long, the scales obtuse, pale or dark brown, scarious-
margined; bristles equaling the achene, the latter obovate, black,
smooth and shining, the tubercle minute, depressed.
This plant usually has been called E. capitata (L.) R. Br., a
name belonging properly to a species of the United States (E. tennis
Schult.).
9. Eleocharis geniculata (L.) R. & S. Syst. Veg. 2: 150. 1817.
Scirpus geniculatus L. Sp. PI. 48. 1753.
Guatemala; Honduras; Salvador; Costa Rica; Panama; in wet
soil, often in marshes or along stream banks, ranging from sea level
to 1,800 m. Generally distributed in tropical America.
Plants with rhizomes, the culms 30-100 cm. high, transversely
septate, terete; spikelet 1-3 cm. long, 5-9 mm. thick, brown, the
scales acutish; bristles equaling or longer than the achene, this
ellipsoid, trigonous, smooth or granular, yellow-brown, the tubercle
conic.
In Costa Rica, where it is called "junco," this plant is used exten-
sively for making thick mats that are used as mattresses on beds.
In the mountains of that country there are often large meadows
overgrown almost exclusively with the plant. In Salvador this
same species is called "tul," "tule," "sintule," and "zuntule."
10. Eleocharis acicularis (L.) R. Br. Prodr. Fl. Nov. Holl. 224.
1810. Scirpus acicularis L. Sp. PI. 48. 1753.
Costa Rica (Volcan Poas and Cerro de Las Vueltas, at 2,500-
3,000 m.); reported, perhaps incorrectly, from Salvador by Hemsley.
Widely distributed in both hemispheres.
Plants with filiform rhizomes, the culms capillary, 3-15 cm. long;
spikelet 3-6 mm. long, usually 4-6-flowered, brown or castaneous,
the scales obtuse; bristles 3-4 or none; achene obovoid-oblong,
longitudinally 12-15-striate, pale, the tubercle minute, acute.
11. Eleocharis retroflexa (Poir.) Urban, Symb. Antill. 2: 165.
1900. Scirpus retroflexus Poir. in Lam. Encycl. 6: 753. 1804. E.
chaetaria R. & S. Syst. Veg. 2: 154. 1817.
British Honduras; Guatemala; Honduras; Salvador; Nicaragua;
Costa Rica; Panama; in moist soil, usually in meadows, fields, or
pastures, ranging from sea level to 2,500 m. Widely distributed
in the tropics of both hemispheres.
CYPERACEAE OF CENTRAL AMERICA 263
Rhizomes filiform or none; culms capillary, 2-20 cm. long;
spikelet 3-4 mm. long, containing 1-4 achenes, green, sometimes
spotted with purple, the scales acutish; bristles equaling the achene,
this obovoid, triquetrous, white, coarsely cancellate, the tubercle
pyramidal.
In wet meadows this plant often forms extensive pure colonies,
consisting of thousands of the delicate, bright green culms closely
matted together.
12. Eleocharis minima Kunth, Enum. PI. 2: 139. 1837.
Honduras (in bog at 1,500 m.); Costa Rica (Canas Gordas, at
1,100 m.). Widely dispersed in tropical America.
Culms cespitose, very slender, 1-20 cm. long; spikelet 2-4 mm.
long, 8-10-flowered, the scales brown or purplish, acutish; bristles
shorter than the achene, this obovoid, smooth, white, 3-angulate,
the tubercle depressed-globose.
13. Eleocharis Durandii Boeckl. Allgem. Bot. Zeitschr. 2: 34.
1896.
Costa Rica (type from Buenos Aires) ; Panama.
Culms tufted, 5-30 cm. high; spikelet 4-7 mm. long, obtuse, the
scales greenish; bristles equaling the achene, this whitish, smooth,
3-angulate, the tubercle short, pyramidal.
14. Eleocharis sulcata (Roth) Nees, Linnaea 9: 294. 1834.
Scirpus sulcatus Roth, Nov. PI. Ind. Or. 30. 1821. Limnochloa
calyptrata Liebm. Dansk. Vid. Selsk. Skrivt. 2: 56. 1849. E. calyptrata
Steud. Syn. PI. Glum. 2: 81. 1855. E. Rothiana Boeckl. Flora 43: 3.
1860. E. costaricensis Boeckl. Allgem. Bot. Zeitschr. 2: 34. 1896.
E. purpureo-vaginata Boeckl. Allgem. Bot. Zeitschr. 2: 34. 1896.
Guatemala; Honduras; Salvador; Nicaragua; Costa Rica; Panama;
wet soil, ascending to 1,800 m. Mexico; South America.
Rhizomes short, the culms tufted, 10-30 cm. high; spikelet 4-7
mm. long, many-flowered, obtuse, fuscous or purplish, the scales
obtuse; bristles shorter than the achene, this trigonous, obovoid,
smooth, the tubercle short and broad.
One specimen from Guatemala, which probably belongs here,
was determined by Clarke as E. montana (HBK.) R. & S. The
plants are too immature for certain identification. Eleocharis
calyptrata was described from Segovia, Nicaragua; E. costaricensis
from Boruca, Costa Rica; and E. purpureo-vaginata from Buenos
Aires, Costa Rica.
15. Eleocharis pachystyla (C. Wright) Clarke in Urban, Symb.
Antill. 2: 72. 1900. Scirpus pachystylus C. Wright in Sauvalle, Fl.
Cub. 174. 1871.
264 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — BOTANY, VOL. VIII
Costa Rica (Canas Gordas, in swamp at 1,100 m.). Cuba and
northern South America.
Rhizomes stout, the culms 40-70 cm. long, stout; spikelet 6-7 mm.
long, obovoid, very obtuse, brownish, the scales obtuse; bristles longer
than the achene, this obovoid, trigonous, the tubercle pyramidal.
4. STENOPHYLLUS Raf.
Annuals or perennials with slender culms, leafy below; leaves
narrowly linear or filiform; spikelets solitary, umbellate, or capitate,
subtended by an involucre of 1 to several bracts; scales spirally
imbricate; flowers perfect; perianth none; stamens 2-3; style 2-3-
cleft, the base swollen and persistent as a tubercle upon the achene;
achene 3-angled or lenticular. — About 90 species, in temperate and
tropical regions of both hemispheres.
Spikelets present in the axils of the leaves 5. S. Funckii.
Spikelets terminal only.
Spikelet 1 1. S. paradoxus.
Spikelets few or many.
Spikelets sessile in umbellate fascicles 2. S. junciformis.
Spikelets pedicellate, solitary on the rays of the umbel.
Culms glabrous above 3. S. tenuifolius.
Culms pubescent 4. S. hirtellus.
1. Stenophyllus paradoxus (Spreng.) Standl. Contr. U. S.
Nat. Herb. 18: 88. 1916. Schoenus paradoxus Spreng. Syst. Veg.
1: 190. 1825. Bulbostylis paradoxa Kunth, Enum. PI. 206. 1837.
Rynchospora perrigida Boeckl. Allgem. Bot. Zeitschr. 2: 93. 1896.
Costa Rica; Panama; on plains, altitude about 250 m. South
America; type from Caracas, Venezuela.
Plants perennial, forming very dense, globose or columnar clumps;
culms stiff, 5-16 cm. long, glabrous; leaves filiform, stiff, shorter
than the culms; spikelet about 1 cm. long, hairy; style 3-cleft;
achene obovoid, pale brown.
2. Stenophyllus junciformis (HBK.) Britton, Bull. Torrey
Club 43: 442. 1916. Isolepis junciformis HBK. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 1:
222. 1815. Bulbostylis junciformis Kunth, Enum. PI. 2: 211. 1837.
Salvador; Costa Rica; Panama; in dry soil, ascending to 1,000 m.
Culms tufted, 10-80 cm. long, glabrous; leaves setaceous, shorter
than the culms; bracts mostly shorter than the umbels; spikelets
4-8 mm. long, dark brown; style 3-cleft; achene obovoid, brown,
smooth or reticulate.
3. Stenophyllus tenuifolius (Rudge) Britton, Bull. Torrey
Club 43: 448. 1916. Scirpus tenuifolius Rudge, PL Guian. 18.
pi. 22. 1805.
CYPERACEAE OF CENTRAL AMERICA 265
Guatemala; Salvador; Costa Rica; at altitudes of 2,300 m. or
less. Also in South America.
Plants annual, tufted, 10-40 cm. high; leaves setaceous, shorter
than the culms, glabrous or nearly so; bracts longer or shorter than
the umbels; spikelets about 5 mm. long, 6-15-flowered, dark brown;
style 3-cleft; achene obovoid, pale or brown, transversely undulate.
The Central American material has been referred to S. capillaris
(L.) Britton (Fimbristylis capillaris Gray; Bulbostylis capillaris
Clarke), but, according to Britton, no true S. capillaris is found in
Central America.
4. Stenophyllus hirtellus (Schrad.) Standl. Journ. Washington
Acad. Sci. 15 : 457. 1925. Isolepis hirtella Schrad. in Schult. Mant. 2 :
70. 1824. Bulbostylis Langsdorffiana Kunth, Enum. PI. 2: 214. 1837.
B. hirtella Nees in Mart. Fl. Bras. 21: 85. 1843. Fimbristylis ciliaris
var. pilosa Britton, Bull. Torrey Club 15: 102. 1888.
Guatemala, at 1,500 m. Mexico and South America.
Plants perennial, tufted, 10-30 cm. high; leaves setaceous, erect,
half as long as the culms, pubescent; spikelets few, 4-7 mm. long,
castaneous; style 3-cleft; achene obovoid, yellow-brown, smooth or
faintly reticulate.
5. Stenophyllus Funckii (Steud.) Britton, Bull. Torrey Club
21: 30. 1894. Isolepis Funckii Steud. Syn. PI. Glum. 2: 91. 1855.
Salvador. Ranging from southwestern United States to Bolivia.
An annual with filiform culms and leaves, 3-8 cm. high; spikelets
4-8 mm. long, solitary at the apex of the culm and sessile at the base
of the leaves, the basal spikes few-flowered, sometimes reduced to a
single flower; scales of the terminal spike lanceolate, acuminate,
castaneous, the lowest often elongate and bractlike; bristles none;
achene obovoid, trigonous, with short beak, white, obscurely rugulose.
5. FIMBRISTYLIS Vahl
Plants annual or perennial, the culms leafy below; spikelets
usually capitate or umbellate, sometimes solitary, terete, involucrate,
the scales usually spirally imbricate, all fertile; perianth none;
stamens 1-3; style 2-3-cleft, deciduous; achene lenticular, biconvex,
or 3-angulate. — About 125 species, of wide distribution.
Style branches 3.
Culms bearing each a single spikelet.
Scales somewhat 2-ranked, indurate 1. F. monostachya.
Scales spirally imbricate, thin 2. F. Preslii.
Culms bearing numerous spikelets.
Spikelets 2-4 mm. long, very obtuse 3. F. miliacea.
Spikelets about 6 mm. long, acute 4. F. complanata.
266 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY— BOTANY, VOL. VIII
Style branches 2.
Achene longitudinally striate; plants usually annual 5. F. diphylla.
Achene smooth or reticulate, not striate; plants perennial.
Scales puberulent near the apex 6. F. ferruginea.
Scales glabrous.
Leaves much shorter than the culms; inflorescence dense and
congested 7. F. spathacea.
Leaves nearly or fully as long as the culms; inflorescence open.
Scales coriaceous, lustrous 8. F. spadicea.
Scales thinner, dull 9. F. castanea.
1. Fimbristylis monostachya (L.) Hassk. PI. Jav. Rar. 61.
1848. Cyperus monostachyus L. Mant. PI. 2: 180. 1771. Abilgardia
monostachya Vahl, Enum. PL 2: 296. 1806.
Guatemala; Costa Rica; Panama; at 250-1,400 m. Mexico, West
Indies, and South America; Old World tropics.
Plants glabrous or nearly so, densely cespitose, the culms 5-40
cm. high; leaves setaceous, equaling or shorter than the culms;
bract usually shorter than the spikelet, the latter pale, 12-15 mm.
long; achene stramineous or brownish, somewhat tuberculate.
2. Fimbristylis Preslii Kunth, Enum. PI. 2: 228. 1837. Abil-
gardia pubescens Presl, Rel. Haenk. 1: 180. 1830, non F. pubescens
Link, 1820.
Guatemala (according to Clarke); Costa Rica (Nicoya).
Colombia.
Culms very slender, scabrous; leaves setaceous, pubescent;
spikelets 4-5 mm. long, the scales obtuse, brownish; achene abruptly
narrowed below, yellowish brown, obovoid-pyriform.
3. Fimbristylis miliacea (L.) Vahl, Enum. PI. 2: 287. 1805.
Scirpus miliaceus L. Syst. Nat. ed. 10. 868. 1759. Trichelostylis
miliacea var. microstachya Nees in Seem. Bot. Voy. Herald 222.
1854.
Guatemala; Honduras; Salvador; Nicaragua (according to
Hemsley); Costa Rica; Panama; in wet, often sandy soil, at 460 m.
or less. Tropical regions of both hemispheres.
Plants annual, slender, glabrous, 20-60 cm. high; leaves usually
shorter than the culms, 1-2 mm. wide; spikelets numerous, subglo-
bose, very obtuse, brown; achenes transversely lineate, stramineous
or pale brown.
4. Fimbristylis complanata (Retz.) Link, Hort. Berol. 1: 292.
1827. Scirpus complanatus Retz. Obs. Bot. 5: 14. 1789.
Panama; in dry fields or savannas. Widely distributed in the
tropics of both hemispheres.
CYPERACEAE OF CENTRAL AMERICA 267
Plants glabrous, with very short or no rhizomes, the culms slender,
20^-80 cm. high; leaves shorter than the culms, 1.5-3 mm. wide;
spikelets few or numerous, solitary, brown; achene trigonous, trans-
versely lineate, yellow-brown.
5. Fimbristylis diphylla (Retz.) Vahl, Enum. PI. 2: 289. 1806.
ScirpiLS diphyllus Retz. Obs. Bot. 5: 15. 1789. F. pentaslachya
Boeckl. Flora 40: 36. 1857. F. polymorpha Boeckl. Vid. Medd.
Kjobenhavn 1869: 141. 1870. F. Holwayana Fernald, Proc. Amer.
Acad. 36: 492. 1901.
British Honduras; Guatemala; Honduras; Salvador; Costa Rica;
Panama; in swamps or moist soil, often growing in sand or gravel,
sometimes a weed in cultivated or waste ground, ranging from sea
level to 1,800 m. Generally distributed in tropical America; also in
the Old World tropics.
Plants glabrous or pubescent, the culms 10-60 cm. high; leaves
shorter than the culms; umbels loose and open, the spikelets numer-
ous, 5-10 mm. long, solitary, obtuse, brown or castaneous;
achenes obovoid, biconvex, white or stramineous, 5-1 1-costate on
each surface.
Occasionally forms of this species are found in which the inflores-
cence is reduced to a single spikelet. Some authors use for this
plant the name Fimbristylis annua (All.) R. & S., but, according to
Britton, that name should be restricted to an Old World plant.
F. diphylla is one of the most common and abundant of the sedges
of Central America, occurring nearly everywhere at lower elevations.
6. Fimbristylis ferruginea (L.) Vahl, Enum. PI. 2: 291. 1806.
Scirpus ferrugineus L. Sp. PI. 50. 1753. F. sublateralis Steud. Syn.
PI. Glum. 2: 114. 1855.
Panama (on the Atlantic coast) . West Indies and South America ;
Old World.
Plants glabrous or nearly so, the culms 20-80 cm. high, the rhi-
zomes very short; leaves very short, the blades often nearly obsolete;
spikelets 5-20, about 1 cm. long, ovoid, the scales brown or ferrugi-
nous; achene obovoid, biconvex, smooth, brownish.
7. Fimbristylis spathacea Roth, Nov. PI. 24. 1821. Scirpus
glomeratus Retz. Obs. Bot. 4: 11. 1786. F. glomerata Urban, Symb.
Antill. 2: 166. 1900, non Nees, 1834. F. melanospora Fernald, Proc.
Amer. Acad. 36:491. 1901.
British Honduras; Honduras; Panama; on or near beaches along
Atlantic coast. Widely distributed in the tropics of both hemispheres.
Plants glabrous or nearly so, with short thick rhizomes, the culms
stout, 10-40 cm. high; leaves narrow, stiff; spikelets numerous,
crowded, 3-6 mm. long, obtuse, brownish; achene obovoid, minute,
usually almost black, biconvex, granulate.
268 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — BOTANY, VOL. VIII
8. Fimbristylis spadicea (L.) Vahl, Enum. PI. 2: 294. 1806.
Scirpus spadiceus L. Sp. PI. 51. 1753.
Guatemala; Honduras; Salvador; Costa Rica; Panama; usually
on sea beaches or tidal flats, in Guatemala on lake shores at an
elevation of 1,100 m. West Indies and South America.
Plants glabrous, with short rhizomes, the culms 20-70 cm. high;
leaves narrow, stiff, the bases indurate and castaneous; spikelets few
or numerous, 1-1.5 cm. long, the scales obtuse, castaneous; achene
biconvex, orbicular, somewhat reticulate, dark brown.
Called "tul fino" and "esparrago" in Guatemala.
9. Fimbristylis castanea (Michx.) Vahl, Enum. PI. 2: 292.
1806. Scirpus castaneus Michx. Fl. Bor. Amer. 1 : 31. 1803.
Costa Rica (Salinas Bay). United States and Mexico.
Plants glabrous or nearly so, the culms slender, 20-70 cm. high;
leaves almost setaceous; spikelets few, ellipsoid, obtuse, brown;
achene obovoid, smooth, delicately reticulate, brownish.
6. SCIRPUS L.
Annuals or perennials, the culms leafy below, the leaves often
reduced to sheaths; flowers perfect, the spikelets terete or slightly
compressed, the scales spirally imbricate; perianth of 1-6 bristles;
stamens 2-3; style 2-3-cleft, deciduous; achene triangular or lentic-
ular.— About 150 species, widely distributed.
Spikelets numerous, umbellate-paniculate or in umbellate heads.
Spikelets in umbellate heads; leaves well developed . . 1. S. cubensis.
Spikelets loosely umbellate-paniculate; leaves reduced to sheaths.
2. S. californicus.
Spikelets few, capitate, appearing lateral.
Culms triangular, 2-7 mm. thick 3. S. Olneyi.
Culms terete, 1 mm. thick or less 4. S. inundatus.
1. Scirpus cubensis Kunth, Enum. PI. 2: 172. 1837.
Guatemala (Duefias, according to Hemsley); Honduras; Nicara-
gua; Panama; along the Atlantic coast, at or near sea level, usually
growing in shallow water. Widely distributed in tropical America.
Plants stout, perennial, glabrous, with long stolons, the culms
erect or decumbent, 30-70 cm. long; leaves basal, 5-9 mm. wide,
usually equaling the culms; umbels simple, the bracts long and leaf-
like, the heads globose, 1-1.5 cm. in diameter, composed of very
numerous spikelets, these 4-8 mm. long; scales ovate, acute, brown;
bristles none; style bifid; achene narrowly obovoid, smooth, pale.
2. Scirpus californicus (C. A. Mey.) Britton, Trans. N. Y.
Acad. Sci. 11 : 6. 1892. Elytrospermum calif ornicum C. A. Mey. Me"m.
Acad. P(§tersb. V. 1: 200. pi. 2. 1830. S. riparius Presl, Rel. Haenk.
CYPERACEAE OF CENTRAL AMERICA 269
1: 193. 1830, non Spreng. S. tatora Kunth, Enum. PI. 2: 166. 1837.
Guatemala; in wet soil or shallow water, at altitudes of 1,200-
2,400 m. United States, Mexico, and South America.
Plants stout, often 1 m. high or more, the culms terete; leaves
reduced to sheaths; involucre of a single short stout erect bract,
appearing like a continuation of the culm; spikelets very numerous,
brown, £-12 mm. long; bristles barbellate; achene fuscous.
3. Scirpus Olneyi Gray, Bost. Journ. Nat. Hist. 5: 238. 1845.
Guatemala (shore of Laguna de Amatitlan, at 1,180 m.). United
States, Mexico, and West Indies.
Plants perennial, the culms 0.5-2 m. high; leaf blades 2-12 cm.
long, or the sheaths often bladeless; involucre of a single short erect
bract; spikelets 3-12, 5-10 mm. long, dark brown; bristles 6, down-
wardly barbate; achene plano-convex, brown.
4. Scirpus inundatus (R. Br.) Poir. Encycl. Suppl. 5: 103. 1817.
Isolepis inundata R. Br. Prodr. Fl. Nov. Holl. 1: 222. 1810.
Costa Rica, at 2,000-2,800 m. South America, Australia, and
New Zealand.
Plants cespitose, the culms slender, 2-20 cm. high; leaves narrowly
linear, shorter than the culms; bract one, much exceeding the spike-
lets; spikelets 2-14, 4-8 mm. long, castaneous; bristles none; achene
yellowish brown.
Some or all of the spikelets usually are replaced by small plants
that fall off and take root. The plant grows in Costa Rica in meadows
or pastures or on open banks high in the mountains. Occasionally
it is found in sphagnum bogs, and it is particularly plentiful in the
acid volcanic sand and gravel about the crater of Poas Volcano.
The plants frequently form dense tufts or cushions.
7. FUIRENA Rottb.
Plants perennial, with leafy triangular culms; spikelets many-
flowered, terete, in terminal and axillary clusters, the scales spirally
imbricate, awned, the lowest ones usually empty; flowers perfect;
perianth of 3 ovate stipitate scales, these usually alternating with
barbate bristles; stamens 3; style 3-cleft, deciduous; achenes 3-angu-
late, smooth, stipitate or sessile. — About 30 species, in the warmer
regions of both hemispheres.
Clusters of spikelets few, usually 4-5; leaves short, less than 5 mm.
wide, sparsely or densely pilose 1. F. incomplete.
Clusters of spikelets numerous; leaves elongate, 8 mm. wide or
more, glabrous or scabrous.
Inner scales of the perianth obovate, scarcely stipitate, scarcely
thickened at the apex 2. F. umbellata.
270 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — BOTANY, VOL. VIII
Inner scales of the perianth ovate-lanceolate or oval, conspicuously
stipitate, much thickened at the apex.
Leaves glabrous or scabrous, 1-2 cm. wide 3. F. robusta.
Leaves pilose, 5-8 mm. wide 4. F. bulbipes.
1. Fuirena incompleta Nees in Mart. Fl. Bras. 2l: 107. 1843.
Guatemala; Panama; in wet soil, at altitudes of 1,000-1,300 m.
South America.
Culms rather slender, about 60 cm. long; leaves stiff, 12 cm. long
or less; spikelets 8-10 mm. long, the scales pubescent, aristate.
2. Fuirena umbellata Rottb. Descr. & Icon. 70. pi. 19, /. 3.
1773.
British Honduras; Guatemala; Honduras; Salvador; Costa Rica;
Panama; in wet soil near sea level. Found in tropical regions of both
hemispheres.
Plants with creeping rhizomes; culms 0.5-1.5 m. long, stout, some-
times pilose above; leaves 25 cm. long or less, 8-15 mm. wide, usually
scabrous; spikelets 1 cm. long, the scales pubescent, aristate; achene
pale brown.
3. Fuirena robusta Kunth, Enum. PI. 2: 185. 1837.
Panama (Chagres). Cuba; South America.
Culms stout, glabrous or nearly so; leaves elongate, 1-2 cm.
wide, scabrous; spikelets very numerous, 1-1.5 cm. long, the scales
pubescent.
The species was collected in Panama in 1850 by Fendler, but it
has not been found there by more recent collectors.
4. Fuirena bulbipes Blake, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 24: 2. 1922.
Type from Cristina, Department of Izabal, Guatemala, near the
Atlantic coast.
Culms bulbous-thickened at the base, 60-70 cm. long, hispid-
pilose below; leaves 4-14 cm. long; spikelets numerous, 5-6 mm.
long, acutish, the scales mucronate; inner scales 3-nerved, obovate-
oval, with a slender incurved awn at the apex; achene broadly
obovoid, trigonous, pale brown, lustrous.
8. ASCOLEPIS Nees
A genus of 6 species, in South America and Africa.
1. Ascolepis brasiliensis (Kunth) Benth. ex Clarke in Durand
& Schinz, Consp. Fl. Afr. 5: 651. 1895. Platylepis brasiliensis Kunth,
Enum. PI. 2: 269. 1837.
Panama, in wet meadows at about 1,250 m. South America
and Africa.
CYPERACEAE OF CENTRAL AMERICA 271
Plants perennial, tufted, glabrous, the culms 20-50 cm. high,
slender; leaves basal, stiff, much shorter than the culms, erect, about
1 mm. wide; spikelets 1-3, sessile, terete, subtended by 2 long linear
bracts, ovoid, obtuse, 6-12 mm. long; scales narrowly lanceolate, the
inner ones hyaline, connate, obcompressed, forming an ovate-
rounded, abruptly short-acuminate utricle; style bifid ; achene oblong,
compressed.
9. LIPOCARPHA R. Br.
1. Lipocarpha maculata (Michx.) Torr. Ann. Lye. N. Y. 3:
288. 1836. Kyllinga maculata Michx. Fl. Bor. Amer. 1: 29. 1803.
Hypaelyptum sphacelatum Vahl, Enum. PI. 2: 283. 1806. L. sphace-
lata Kunth, Enum. PI. 2: 267. 1837.
Guatemala; Honduras; Salvador; Panama; in wet soil, often in
sand, ranging from sea level to 1,400 m. Widely distributed in the
tropics of both hemispheres.
Plants annual, the culms very slender, tufted, sulcate; leaves
basal, 1 mm. wide or less, usually much shorter than the culms;
bracts usually 2, 1-12 cm. long; spikelets in 2 terminal heads, broadly
ovoid, very obtuse, terete, 4-6 mm. long; scales spirally imbricate,
spatulate, usually brownish ; bristles none.
10. HEMICARPHA Nees & Arn.
A genus of about 5 species, in both hemispheres.
1. Hemicarpha micrantha (Vahl) Pax in Engl. & Prantl,
Pflanzenfam. 22: 105. 1887. Scirpus micranthus Vahl, Enum. PI. 2:
254. 1806. H. subsquarrosa Nees in Mart. Fl. Bras. 21: 61. 1842.
Guatemala; Honduras; Salvador; Costa Rica; in moist soil, often
in sand, ranging from sea level to 900 m. United States and Mexico;
South America; Angola.
A slender tufted glabrous annual, 5-12 cm. high; leaves setaceous,
mostly shorter than the culms; flowers perfect, the spikelets ovoid,
many-flowered, in clusters of 2-4 or solitary, about 2 mm. long;
bracts much longer than the spikelets; scales brown, spirally imbri-
cate; perianth none; stamen 1; style 2-cleft; achene obovate, slightly
compressed, pale brown.
11. MARISCUS (Hall.) Zinn.
A genus of about 40 species, widely distributed in tropical and
temperate regions.
1. Mariscus jamaicensis (Crantz) Britton in Britt. & Brown,
Illustr. Fl. 1: 348. 1913. Schoenus Mariscus L. Sp. PI. 42. 1753.
Cladium jamaicense Crantz, Inst. 1 : 362. 1766. C. Mariscus R. Br.
Prodr. Fl. Nov. Roll. 236. 1810. Hypolytrum Kuntzeanum Boeckl.
Cyp. Nov. 1:23. 1888.
272 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — BOTANY, VOL. VIII
British Honduras; Guatemala; Panama (according to Hemsley);
ranging from sea level to an altitude of 1,400 m. Widely distributed
in both hemispheres.
A coarse perennial 1-2.5 m. high, the culms obtusely triangular,
leafy; leaves much elongate, 6-20 mm. wide, the margins finely
serrulate; spikelets few-flowered, in large panicles, clustered, ovoid,
4-5 mm. long, the uppermost flower perfect; perianth none; stamens
2; achene ovoid, sharp-pointed, 2 mm. long, rugose.
Known in the southern United States by the name "sawgrass."
The sharp sawlike edges of the coarse leaves cut the skin painfully
if the plant is handled carelessly. In Florida the leaves are employed
for weaving baskets and other articles.
12. REMIREA Aubl.
The genus consists of a single species.
1. Remirea maritima Aubl. PI. Guian. 1: 45. pi. 16. 1775.
Honduras; Nicaragua (according to Hemsley) ; Panama (Chagres) ;
in sand on seashores. Tropical regions of both hemispheres.
A glabrous perennial with long slender rhizomes; culms 5-25 cm.
long, densely leafy; leaves erect or spreading, stiff, 8 cm. long or
less; bracts 2-6, 6 cm. long or less, similar to the leaves; spikelets
densely spicate, 1-flowered, the spikes ovoid, 1-2 cm. long, stra-
mineous or fuscous; scales 4; bristles none; stamens 3; style usually
3-cleft; achene sessile, smooth.
The plant often forms dense tufts that are well protected by the
very numerous, stiff, sharp-pointed leaves. The roots extend deeply
into the sand.
13. DICHROMENA Michx.
Plants perennial; spikelets few, compressed, several- to many-
flowered, in a dense terminal head, surrounded by an involucre of
bracts, these often white at the base; scales spirally imbricate, some
of them empty or with imperfect flowers; perianth none; stamens 3;
style 2-cleft; achene lenticular, transversely rugose, capped by the
persistent style base (tubercle). — About 20 species, in the Western
Hemisphere.
Leaves 5-12 mm. wide; bracts green at the base 1. D. Watsoni.
Leaves 2-4 mm. wide; bracts sometimes whitish.
Plants with fibrous roots; scales thin, brownish; bracts green
throughout 2. D. radicans.
Plants with rhizomes; scales firm, white; bracts white within
the base 3. D. ciliata.
1. Dichromena Watsoni Britton, Bull. Torrey Club 15: 101.
1888.
CYPERACEAE OF CENTRAL AMERICA 273
Guatemala; Nicaragua; Costa Rica; Panama; in forest at low
elevations, along the Atlantic coast; type collected in Guatemala.
Culms stout, tufted, 40-60 cm. high, leafy; leaves 15-20 cm.
long, glabrous; bracts about 9, resembling the leaves; spikelets about
9, brown, 12-15 mm. long; achene obovoid, with a broad depressed
tubercle.
2. Dichromena radicans S. &C. Linnaea6:38. 1831. D.pubera
Vahl, Enum. PI. 2: 241, in part. 1806.
British Honduras; Guatemala; Honduras; Salvador; Nicaragua;
Costa Rica; Panama; in wet soil, ascending to 1,300 m. Widely
distributed in tropical America.
Culms densely tufted, 20-50 cm. high; leaves numerous, equaling
or shorter than the culms, glabrous or pubescent; bracts ciliate at
the base, elongate; spikelets 1-5, pointed, 1 cm. long or less.
The plants sometimes are proliferous. This is one of the common
weedy sedges of Central America, occurring plentifully as a weed
in waste or cultivated ground.
3. Dichromena ciliata Vahl, Enum. PI. 2: 240. 1806. D. nervosa
Vahl, op. cit. 241, in part. 1806.
British Honduras; Guatemala; Honduras; Salvador; Costa Rica;
Panama; in moist soil, ascending to 1,400 m. Widely distributed in
tropical America.
Culms 10-70 cm. high, slender; leaves 10-30 cm. long, glabrous
or pilose; bracts 4-6, usually ciliate toward the base, 12 cm. long
or less; spikelets 3-15, 1 cm. long or less, the scales often scabrous
along the keel; achene 1 mm. long, ovoid-lanceolate, transversely
rugose, brown or black.
Called "junco menudo" and "clavo" in Panama.
14. RYNCHOSPORA Vahl
Plants mostly perennial, sometimes annual, the culms 3-angulate
or terete; spikelets oblong or fusiform, variously arranged, the scales
1-nerved, spirally imbricate; upper flowers staminate, the lower
perfect; perianth of bristles, or sometimes wanting; stamens usually
3; style 2-cleft or rarely entire; achene lenticular or turgid, smooth or
transversely rugose, capped by the persistent style base. — About 200
species, widely distributed, especially in warm regions.
The generic name is written Rhynchospora by some authors.
Spikelets all crowded in a single dense head.
Bracts 10-30 cm. long; leaves 8-15 mm. wide 1. R. cephalotes.
Bracts 4 cm. long or less; leaves 3 mm. wide or narrower.
Plants glabrous; bracts not ciliate 2. R. globosa.
Plants pubescent; bracts ciliate.
274 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — BOTANY, VOL. VIII
Bracts partly leaflike; outer spikelets reflexed or spreading.
3. R. barbata.
Bracts all thin and scarious; spikelets all erect.
4. R. armerioides.
Spikelets variously arranged but never in a single head.
Branches of the style equaling or longer than the undivided portion.
Bristles present.
Spikelets mostly solitary 5. R. marisculus.
Spikelets fasciculate in the corymbs 6. R. glauca.
Bristles none.
Achenes smooth.
Spikelets about 9 mm. long 7. R. longispicata.
Spikelets 2-3 mm. long 8. R. Clarkei.
Achenes reticulate or transversely rugose.
Spikelets 1-1.5 mm. long 9. R. micrantfia.
Spikelets 3-10 mm. long.
Achenes reticulate 10. R. hirsuta.
Achenes transversely rugose.
Nutlets 1-2 in each spikelet.
Spikelets 2-5 11. R. Berterii.
Spikelets numerous.
Achene not tridentate at the apex . . 12. R. tennis.
Achene tridentate at the apex 13. R. setacea.
Nutlets 3 or more in each spikelet.
Base of the style depressed, almost discoid; scales
very acute 14. R. eximia.
Base of the style pyramidal; scales obtuse.
15. R. robusta.
Branches of the style short or none, much shorter than the undi-
vided portion.
Spikelets in globose heads or headlike cymes.
Spikelets in globose heads 1 cm. in diameter . 16. R. cyperoides.
Spikelets in headlike cymes 2-2.5 cm. in diameter.
17. R. Torresiana.
Spikelets not in globose heads or headlike cymes.
Spikelets fasciculate, yellow or yellow-brown.
18. R. corymbosa.
Spikelets mostly solitary, greenish or chestnut-brown.
CYPERACEAE OF CENTRAL AMERICA 275
Inflorescence much shorter than the basal leaves; leaves
silvery 19. R. argentea.
Inflorescence much surpassing the basal leaves; leaves green.
Bristles obsolete or nearly so.
Spikelets about 4 mm. long 20. R. polyphylla.
Spikelets 6-9 mm. long 21. R. Schiedeana.
Bristles equaling or longer than the achene.
Spikelets green or greenish.
Spikelets 3-4 mm. long 22. R. locuples.
Spikelets 7-8 mm. long 23. R. aristata.
Spikelets dark brown.
Achene about 1 mm. long, shorter than the bristles.
24. R. vulcani.
Achene about 2.5 mm. long, equaling the bristles.
25. R. macrochaeta.
1. Rynchospora cephalotes (L.) Vahl, Enum. PI. 2: 237. 1806.
Scirpus cephalotes L. Sp. PI. ed. 2. 76. 1762.
British Honduras; Guatemala; Honduras; Costa Rica; Panama;
in moist soil, at 300 m. or less. Mexico; Jamaica; South America.
Plants with rhizomes, coarse, usually 1 m. high or more, the
culms leafy, leaves 40 cm. long or less, 4-12 mm. wide, glabrous or
nearly so; spikelets greenish, 50-100, collected in a dense ovoid head
2-4 cm. long; bracts large and leaflike; spikelets about 7 mm. long;
bristles 6, longer than the achene; achene 1.5 mm. long, reticulate,
castaneous, the beak longer than the body.
In Panama this species is sometimes given the name of "paja
macho de monte," that is, tapir grass. It is a characteristic plant
of thickets and forests.
2. Rynchospora globosa (HBK.) R. & S. Syst. Veg. 2: 89. 1817.
Chaetospora globosa HBK. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 1: 230. 1815.
Guatemala; Costa Rica; Panama; in dry fields, at 1,000 m. or
less. Cuba; South America.
Plants glabrous or nearly so, 30-90 cm. high, in small dense
tufts; leaves basal, 15-50 cm. long, 5 mm. wide or less, stiff and
rigid, brown and indurate below; heads globose, 1-2 cm. in diameter;
one of the bracts longer than the head, the others shorter; spikelets
brownish, the scales rigid; bristles 5-6; achene fuscous, with a short
beak.
Rynchospora epiglobosa Clarke (Kew Bull. Add. Ser. 8: 34. 1908),
described from British Honduras, is closely related and perhaps not
distinct.
276 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — BOTANY, VOL. VIII
3. Rynchospora barbata (Vahl) Kunth, Enum. PL 2: 290.
1837. Schoenus barbatus Vahl, Eclog. Amer. 2: 4. 1798.
Honduras; Panama; on dry hillsides and savannas, sometimes in
pine forest, ascending to 1,300 m. Northern South America.
Plants in small dense tufts, the culms slender, 15-40 cm. high;
leaves basal, pilose, usually much shorter than the culms, 1-2 mm.
wide; heads globose, about 1 cm. in diameter, brownish, the bracts
4 cm. long or less; bristles twice as long as the achene, the latter
broadly winged.
4. Rynchospora armerioides Presl, Rel. Haenk. 1: 197. pi. 31,
f. 2. 1825.
Costa Rica; Panama; in savannas, at 460 m. or less; type from
Panama. South America.
Culms tufted, 8-20 cm. high; leaves basal, shorter than the culms,
more or less ciliate, 2-3 mm. wide; heads nearly 1 cm. high, pale
brownish.
5. Rynchospora marisculus Nees, Linnaea 9: 297. 1834. Ryn-
chospora jubata Liebm. Dansk. Vid. Selsk. Skrivt. 2: 66. 1849.
Guatemala ; Costa Rica ; in swamps, at 1,100 to 1,800 m. Southern
Mexico, West Indies, and South America.
Plants glabrous, 0.5-1 m. high, with short rhizomes, the culms
slender, leafy; leaves 20-40 cm. long, 4-6 mm. wide; inflorescence
lax, much branched, the spikelets 5-7 mm. long, brown; bristles
about 7, much longer than the achene, the latter transverse-undulate.
6. Rynchospora glauca Vahl, Enum. PI. 2: 233. 1806. R.
Durandiana Boeckl. Allgem. Bot. Zeitschr. 2: 94. 1896.
Guatemala; Honduras; Costa Rica; in moist soil, sometimes in
pine forest or in sphagnum bogs, at 900-2,700 m. Tropics of both
hemispheres.
Plants glabrous, with short rhizomes, 20-80 cm. high, the culms
leafy; leaves 50 cm. long or less, 2-4 mm. wide; corymbs 1-2 cm.
broad, the spikelets 3 mm. long, brown; bristles 6, slightly longer
than the achene, this castaneous, undulate, short-beaked.
Rynchospora Schaffneri Boeckl. (Linnaea 37: 575. 1873) does not
appear to differ essentially, at least as concerns the Central American
specimens so determined by Clarke.
7. Rynchospora longispicata Boeckl. Linnaea 37: 600. 1873.
Costa Rica (Laguna de Buenos Aires, alt. 200 m.). West Indies
and South America.
Plants glabrous, with short rhizomes, the culms very slender,
30-40 cm. long; leaves about equaling the culms, 1-2 mm. wide,
stiff; corymbs lax, the spikelets few, yellowish brown; bristles none;
achene smooth, brown, short-beaked.
CYPERACEAE OF CENTRAL AMERICA 277
8. Rynchospora Clarkei Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 10:
464. 1908. Rynchospora Pringlei Clarke, Kew Bull. Add. Ser. 8: 89.
1908, non Greenm. 1903.
Costa Rica (savannas, Buenos Aires, alt. 200 m.); Panama.
Mexico.
Plants annual, densely tufted, slender, 4-8 cm. high, glabrous;
leaves about 1 mm. wide; corymbs very small, the spikelets few,
brownish, containing 1-4 achenes; achenes 0.5 mm. long, smooth,
greenish.
9. Rynchospora micrantha Vahl, Enum. PI. 2: 231. 1806.
British Honduras; Guatemala; Salvador; Panama; near sea level.
Tropical and subtropical America; western Africa.
Plants annual, slender, 10-50 cm. high, the culms leafy; leaves
20 cm. long or less, 2-3 mm. wide; corymbs lax, with very slender,
spreading branches, the spikelets numerous, greenish; bristles none;
achene minute, yellowish brown, transversely rugose, short-beaked.
10. Rynchospora hirsuta Vahl, Enum. PI. 2: 231. 1806. Schoe-
nus hirsutus Vahl, Eclog. Amer. 1: 6. 1796.
Panama; in savannas, near sea level. Cuba; northern South
America.
Plants with fibrous roots, 10-30 cm. high, pilose or glabrous, the
culms slender, leafy; leaves equaling or shorter than the culms,
2-3 mm. wide; corymbs 2-4 cm. broad; spikelets numerous, 4 mm.
long, brown or castaneous; bristles none; achene coarsely reticulate,
yellow-brown.
11. Rynchospora Berterii (Spreng.) Clarke in Urban, Symb.
Antill. 2: 119. 1900. Hypolytrum Berterii Spreng. Neue Entd. 1:
241. 1820.
British Honduras, near sea level. Greater Antilles.
Plants very slender, with short stolons and rhizomes, 10 cm. high
or less; leaves 2-15 cm. long, 1 mm. wide, glabrous or pilose near the
base; spikelets 2-5, fasciculate-spicate at the apex of the culm, 2-4
mm. long, lanceolate; scales 6-7, only 1 or rarely 2 fertile, whitish;
bristles none; achene globose, sessile, transversely undulate, brown
or nearly black, the beak half as long as the achene, conic, blackish.
12. Rynchospora tenuis Link, Jahrb. 3: 76. 1820.
Guatemala (near Huehuetenango, at 1,950-2,400 m.); Honduras
(in wet meadow and on open banks at 1,100-1,400 m.). Mexico,
West Indies, and South America.
Plants glabrous, 10-30 cm. high, with very short rhizomes,
slender; leaves equaling or shorter than the culms, 1-3 mm. wide;
corymbs axillary and terminal, 1-4 cm. broad; spikelets numerous,
3-4 mm. long, pale; bristles none; achene 1 mm. long, brownish,
transversely rugose, the tubercle short and broad.
278 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — BOTANY, VOL. VIII
13. Rynchospora setacea (Berg) Boeckl. Vid. Medd. Kjoben-
havn 1869: 159. 1870. Schoenus setaceus Berg, Act. Helv. 7: 130.
pi. 9. 1772. R. tenerrima Spreng. Syst. Veg. Cur. Post. 26. 1827.
Panama (Chepo, in dry fields). West Indies and South America.
Plants slender, glabrous, 10-30 cm. high, with fibrous roots, the
culms leafy; leaves 10-15 cm. long, 1-2 mm. wide; corymbs dense,
the spikelets few, 4 mm. long, pale; bristles none; achenes 1 mm. long,
transversely undulate, brown, the beak very short.
14. Rynchospora eximia (Nees) Boeckl. Linnaea 37: 601. 1873.
Spermodon eximius Nees in Seem. Bot. Voy. Herald 222. 1854.
Honduras; Panama; in wet fields or bogs, ranging from sea
level to 1,400 m. ; type from Panama. Mexico; Cuba.
Plants glabrous, 10-45 cm. high, with fibrous roots, the culms
leafy; leaves often exceeding the culms, 2-3 mm. wide; corymbs
open, the spikelets numerous, 7-10 mm. long, dark brown, long-
pedicellate; bristles none; achenes yellow-brown, transversely undu-
late, the beak very short.
This species was reported from Costa Rica by Clarke, but the
specimen of the cited collection seen by the writer is Fimbristylis
diphylla.
15. Rynchospora robusta (Kunth) Boeckl. Linnaea 37: 616.
1873. Dichromena robusta Kunth, Enum. PI. 2: 283. 1837.
Guatemala; Costa Rica; Panama; in swamps, at 1,000 to 1,300
m. Southern Mexico; South America.
Plants glabrous, 0.6-1 m. high or larger, with short rhizomes, the
culms leafy; leaves shorter than the culms, about 6 mm. wide; cymes
large and broad, the spikelets numerous, 7 mm. long, brown; bristles
none.
16. Rynchospora cyperoides (Sw.) Mart. Denkschr. Akad.
Wiss. Muenchen 6: 149. 1816-17. Schoenus cyperoides Sw. Prodr.
Veg. Ind. Occ. 19. 1788. R. polycephala Wydler ex Kunth, Enum.
PI. 2:291. 1837.
British Honduras; Guatemala; Costa Rica; Panama; in savannas
or along shores and stream banks, near sea level. Mexico, West
Indies, and South America; tropical Africa.
Plants glabrous or nearly so, 20-80 cm. high, with short rhizomes;
leaves longer or shorter than the culms, 2-5 mm. wide; heads 1-25,
laxly paniculate, about 1 cm. in diameter, brown; bristles 6, slightly
shorter than the achene, the latter 1 mm. long, smooth or transversely
undulate, brownish, the beak equaling the achene.
17. Rynchospora Torresiana Britt. & Standl. ex Standl. Journ.
Washington Acad. Sci. 15: 473. 1925.
Known only from the region of the type locality, in wet forest
at El Muiieco, south of Navarro, Province of San Jose", Costa Rica,
at 1,400 m.
CYPERACEAE OF CENTRAL AMERICA 279
Plants erect, 1-2 m. high; leaves 9-13 mm. wide, pale green, the
margins scaberulous; spikelets sessile or nearly so, very numerous, in
dense headlike cymes 2-2.5 cm. in diameter, the heads few, solitary on
long, slender, axillary and terminal peduncles, rarely sessile, some-
times in clusters of 3 on the peduncle; spikelets 1 cm. long, pale
greenish; bristles 4, slightly shorter than the achene, antrorse-scaber-
ulous; achene obovoid-orbicular, plano-convex, 2.5-3 mm. long, pale
brownish, finely reticulate, rounded at the apex, the beak 4-5 mm.
long, green, its base one-third as broad as the achene.
18. Rynchospora corymbosa (L.) Britton, Trans. N. Y. Acad.
Sci. 11: 85. 1892. Stirpus corymbosus L. Amoen. Acad. 4: 303. 1788.
R. aurea Vahl, Enum. PI. 2: 229. 1806. ?R. orizabensis Clarke ex
Britton, Trans. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 11: 85. 1892.
Guatemala; Nicaragua; Costa Rica; Panama; in swamps or moist
soil, ascending to 1,290 m. Tropical regions of both hemispheres.
Plants glabrous or nearly so, stout, often 1 m. high or more,
with fibrous roots; leaves 30-60 cm. long, 1-1.5 cm. wide; panicles
40 cm. long 9r less, dense, the spikelets very numerous, 6-10 mm.
long, containing a single achene; bristles 6, longer than the achene,
upwardly scabrous; achene 2-3 mm. long, smooth or rugose, blackish,
the beak equaling the achene.
Called "navajuela" in Mexico.
19. Rynchospora argentea Standl. Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb.
18:87.1916.
Type from Puerto Obaldia, San Bias Coast, Panama.
Culms naked, very slender and weak, 20 cm. high or less; leaves
30-40 cm. long, 2-3 cm. wide, glabrous; corymbs small, the spikelets
few, pale, 7 mm. long, solitary, pedicellate; bristles 6, white.
20. Rynchospora polyphylla Vahl, Enum. PI. 2: 230. 1806.
Schoenus polyphyllus Vahl, Eclog. Amer. 2: 5. 1798. R. costaricensis
Boeckl. Allgem. Bot. Zeitschr. 2: 110. 1896.
Guatemala; Honduras; Salvador; Nicaragua; Costa Rica; Pan-
ama; in moist soil, often in forests, ascending to 2,000 m. Mexico,
West Indies, and northern South America.
Plants glabrous or pubescent, with slender rhizomes, the culms
very leafy, often 1 m. long, weak and often reclining; leaves usually
equaling the culms, 4-7 mm. wide; panicles elongate, narrow, the
spikelets very numerous, pale; achene 1 mm. long, reticulate, castane-
ous, the beak about as long as the achene.
21. Rynchospora Schiedeana Kunth, Enum. PI. 2: 300. 1837.
R. Schiedeana var. varica Clarke, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 10: 463.
1908. ?R. Tuerckheimii Clarke ex Britton, Trans. N. Y. Acad. Sci.
11:85. 1892.
Guatemala; Costa Rica; at 1,300 to 1,800 m. Mexico.
280 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — BOTANY, VOL. VIII
Plants about a meter high, nearly glabrous, the culms very leafy;
leaves 5-15 mm. wide; panicles elongate, the spikelets numerous,
pale; achene smooth, with long beak.
22. Rynchospora locuples Clarke, Bot. Jahrb. Engler 34:
Beibl. 78: 5. 1904.
Type from Copey, Costa Rica, at 1,800 m. Also in Colombia.
Plants about a meter high, nearly glabrous, the culms stout, leafy;
leaves 12-17 mm. wide; panicles very large, the spikelets extremely
numerous, pale, maturing a single achene; achene 1-1.5 mm. long,
pale, reticulate, the beak longer than the achene.
23. Rynchospora aristata Boeckl. Flora 40: 36. 1873.
Guatemala; Nicaragua; mountain regions. Jamaica, Mexico,
and northern South America.
Plants glabrous or nearly so, up to 1 m. high, the culms leafy,
the rootstocks short and thick; leaves 5-12 mm. wide; panicles
elongate, the spikelets numerous; bristles 3-5, equaling the achene,
the latter smooth, dark brown, with elongate beak.
24. Rynchospora vulcani Boeckl. Linnaea 37: 638. 1873. R.
Pittieri Boeckl. Allgem. Bot. Zeitschr. 2: 109. 1896.
Costa Rica, in the higher mountains at 2,000-3,000 m.; type
from Volcan de Barba.
Plants glabrous or nearly so; leaves 4-6 mm. wide; panicle of
3-4 pedunculate corymbs, the spikelets numerous; bristles 4-5;
achene smooth or obscurely rugulose, the beak shorter than the
achene.
25. Rynchospora macrochaeta Steud. in Lechler, Berber.
Amer. Centr. 56. 1857. R. Hoffmanni Boeckl. Linnaea 37: 637.
1873.
Costa Rica; Panama; high peaks, at 2,000 to 3,000 m. South
America.
Plants glabrous or nearly so, about 1 m. high, with short root-
stocks, the culms stout, leafy; panicles of few corymbs, the spikelets
numerous, 6-8 mm. long; bristles 4-6; achene smooth, minutely
reticulate, brown or pale, the beak equaling or longer than the achene.
15. SCLERIA Berg
Annuals or perennials, with leafy culms; spikelets small, clustered,
spicate or paniculate; flowers monoecious, the staminate and pistil-
late in the same or separate clusters; pistillate spikelets 1-flowered,
the staminate many-flowered, the scales spirally imbricate; perianth
none; style 3-cleft, deciduous; achene globose or ovoid, obtuse, hard
and bonelike, usually subtended at the base by a disk. — About 200
species, widely distributed in temperate and tropical regions.
CYPERACEAE OF CENTRAL AMERICA 281
Spikelets not all unisexual, some of the pistillate ones with staminate
flowers.
Spikelets in a simple spike.
Plants perennial, with rhizomes 1. S. hirtella.
Plants annual, with fibrous roots 2. S. vertidllata.
Spikelets paniculate.
Achene very rugose 3. S. Liebmanni.
Achene smooth.
Inflorescence long-exserted; achenes 1.5 mm. long and as
broad, nearly truncate at the apex 4. S. Purdiei.
Inflorescence little exserted; achenes 2.5 mm. long, much
longer than broad, rounded at the apex . 5. S. lithosperma.
Spikelets all unisexual.
Margin of the disk (beneath the achene) laciniate or ciliate.
Margin of the disk laciniate.
Achenes tuberculate 6. S. panicoides.
Achenes smooth.
Achenes white 7. S. latifolia.
Achenes purplish 8. S. arundinacea.
Margin of the disk ciliate.
Achene 5-6 mm. long; leaves 1.5-5 cm. wide. 9. S. paludosa.
Achenes less than 3 mm. long; leaves 0.5-2 cm. wide.
Disk long-ciliate with very numerous dark hairs; style base
black or nearly so 10. S. mitis.
Disk short-ciliate with few whitish hairs; style base light
brown 11. S. microcarpa.
Margin of disk neither laciniate nor ciliate.
Achenes tuberculate or reticulate.
Plants with fibrous roots; achenes glabrous. ... 12. S. setacea.
Plants withrootstocks; achenes pubescent. . . .13. S. bracteata.
Achenes smooth.
Achenes 3-5 mm. long.
Branches of the inflorescence hirsute 14. S. secans.
Branches of the inflorescence scaberulous.
Disk subentire, the margin reflexed 15. S. lacustris.
Disk 3-lobate, margin not reflexed . 16. S. setuloso-tiliata.
Achenes 2.5 mm. long or less.
Achenes white 17. S. pterota.
Achenes chestnut or purple 18. S. melaleuca.
282 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — BOTANY, VOL. VIII
1. Scleria hirtella Sw. Prodr. Veg. Ind. Occ. 19. 1788.
Guatemala; Costa Rica; Panama; in meadows and on open hill-
sides, ascending to 1,300 m. Widely distributed in tropical America;
Africa.
Plants pubescent, with slender rhizomes, the culms slender,
20-60 cm. long or more; leaves 2-4 mm. wide; spikes 5-20 cm. long,
the spikelets hispidulous, in remote clusters; achene 1 mm. long,
smooth, white, contracted below.
Clarke (Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 10: 466. 1908) reported a collec-
tion of S. distans Poir. from Costa Rica, but the fragmentary speci-
men in the United States National Herbarium of the number cited
seems to belong rather to S. hirtella.
2. Scleria verticillata Muhl. ex Willd. Sp. PI. 4: 317. 1805.
Honduras, in open pine forest at 1,300 m. Mexico, Cuba, and
the southeastern United States.
A slender low annual, 60 cm. high or less; leaves about 1 mm.
wide, shorter than the culm, the lower very short, the sheaths some-
times pubescent; spikelets in several separated clusters, forming a
usually simple spike; achene globose, 1 mm. in diameter, with sharp
transverse ridges or somewhat reticulate.
3. Scleria Liebmanni Steud. Syn. PL Glum. 2: 179. 1855.
Hypoporum micrococcum Liebm. Dansk. Vid. Selsk. Skrivt. V. 2:
255. 1851. S. costaricensis Boeckl. Allgem. Bot. Zeitschr. 2: 157. 1896.
British Honduras; Costa Rica; Panama; in swamps and savannas
at low elevations. Mexico, Cuba, and South America.
Plants annual, pubescent below, very slender, the culms 20-30
cm. long; leaves 1-2 mm. wide; panicles about 10 cm. long, the
spikelets in small sessile clusters, the bracts shorter than the spike-
lets; achenes 1 mm. long, white.
This species was reported from Panama by Nees (in Seem. Bot.
Voy. Herald 223. 1854) as Hypoporum verticillatum, and by Hemsley
as Scleria verticillata Muhl.
4. Scleria Purdiei Clarke, Kew Bull. Add. Ser. 8: 57. 1908. S.
Hitchcockii Standl. Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 18: 88. 1916.
Panama (El Boquete, on grassy hillside, at 1,000 m.). Colombia
and Venezuela.
Plants slender, 50-70 cm. high; leaves 12-18 cm. long, 2-4 mm.
wide, nearly glabrous; panicles about 10 cm. long, the branches very
slender; spikelets sessile in small dense clusters; achene globose, 1.2
mm. in diameter, white, glabrous, the disk fused with the achene as a
short stipe.
5. Scleria lithosperma (L.) Sw. Prodr. Veg. Ind. Occ. 18. 1788.
Scirpus lithospermus L. Sp. PL 51. 1753.
CYPERACEAE OF CENTRAL AMERICA 283
Costa Rica; Panama; in moist soil, ascending to about 1,000 m.
Tropical regions of both hemispheres.
Plants glabrous or nearly so, with stout rootstocks, the culms
30-90 cm. long; leaves 10-30 cm. long, 3-6 mm. wide; panicles
sparsely branched, the spikelets in distant sessile clusters; achenes
smooth, white, glabrous, the disk fused with the base and nearly
obsolete.
6. Scleria panicoides Kunth, Enum. PI. 2: 348. 1837.
Panama (Empire Station). South America; type from Brazil.
Culms 30-60 cm. high, scabrous on the angles; leaves about 30
cm. long and 2.5 cm. wide, pubescent beneath; panicle branches
hirtous; bracts elongate; achene globose, hirtellous.
It is probable that the oldest name for this species is Scleria
foveolata Cav. (Icon. PI. 5: 35. 1799), which was based on specimens
collected on flats near Ancon Hill, Canal Zone.
7. Scleria latifolia Sw. Prodr. Veg. Ind. Occ. 18. 1788.
Guatemala (Coban, border of forest, at 1,300 m.); Costa Rica.
Lesser Antilles; Venezuela.
Plants stout, 1 m. high or more; leaves 40-60 cm. long, 3-5 cm.
wide, the sheaths broadly 3-winged; panicles 40 cm. long or less;
achene globose, 3 mm. in diameter, the disk 3-lobate.
8. Scleria arundinacea Kunth, Enum. PI. 2: 347. 1837.
British Honduras; Guatemala; Costa Rica; Panama; in swamps
at chiefly low elevations, ascending to 900 m. Lesser Antilles; South
America.
Plants large and coarse, 1-2 m. high; leaves 2.5-5 cm. wide,
glabrous, scabrous on the margins, the sheaths broadly 3-winged;
panicles large and much branched, puberulent; achenes 3 mm. in
diameter, globose, smooth.
It is doubtful whether this is more than a mere form of S. latifolia,
separable only by the color of the achenes. In Costa Rica the plant
is called "navajuela," and in Venezuela "cortadera."
9. Scleria paludosa Kunth, Enum. PI. 2: 344. 1837. Ophryo-
scleria asperrima Liebm. Dansk. Vid. Selsk. Skrivt. V. 2: 261. 1851.
S. asperrima Steud. Syn. PI. Glum. 2: 170. 1855. S. macrocarpa
Salzm. Linnaea 38: 521. 1874.
Guatemala; Honduras; Nicaragua; Costa Rica; Panama; along
streams or in ditches and swamps near sea level. Cuba; South
America.
Plants stout, coarse, 1-2 m. high, glabrous except in the inflo-
rescence, with stout rhizomes; leaves 20-40 cm. long, the sheaths
3-winged; panicles 20-40 cm. long, much branched; achenes ovoid,
white or yellowish, smooth, the disk shallowly 3-lobate.
284 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — BOTANY, VOL. VIII
10. Scleria mitis Berg, Vet. Akad. Handl. Stockh. 26: 145. 1765.
Guatemala; Panama; in wet soil near sea level. West Indies and
South America.
Plants stout and coarse, 1-2 m. high, nearly glabrous; leaves
30-50 cm. long, the sheaths 3-winged; panicles narrow, 50 cm. long
or less, much branched; achenes globose-ovoid, white, the disk
truncate.
Known in Cuba by the name "cortadera."
11. Scleria microcarpa Nees, Linnaea 9: 302. 1834.
Guatemala; Honduras; Panama; in marshes or wet soil, ascending
to 350 m. West Indies and South America.
Plants stout, with horizontal rhizomes, about 1 m. high; leaves
20-30 cm. long, 8-11 mm. wide, the sheaths narrowly 3-winged;
panicles narrow, 20-50 cm. long; achenes 1-2 mm. long, ellipsoid or
ovoid, smooth, white, the disk subentire.
Called "cortadera" in Cuba and Porto Rico.
12. Scleria setacea Poir. in Lam. Encycl. 7: 4. 1806. S. coriacea
Liebm. Dansk. Vid. Selsk. Skrivt. V. 2: 259. 1851. S. hemitaphra
Steud. Syn. PL Glum. 2: 169. 1855.
Guatemala; Salvador; Costa Rica; Panama; chiefly on the Pacific
slope, at 1,350 m. or less. Southeastern United States, Mexico, and
the West Indies.
Plants with fibrous roots, glabrous or nearly so, 30-60 cm. high,
slender; leaves 2-4 mm. wide, the sheaths very narrowly winged;
panicles small, axillary, with elongate bracts; achenes 1.5-2 mm.
long, subglobose, the disk with 3 small lobes.
In Salvador the name "navajuela" sometimes is applied to this
species. The type of S. coriacea was collected in Guanacaste, Costa
Rica.
13. Scleria bracteata Cav. Icon. PL 5: 34. pi 451. 1799.
British Honduras; Guatemala; Costa Rica; Panama; in wet soil
at 650 m. or less; type collected near Ancon, Panama. Southern
Mexico and South America.
Plants coarse, about 1 m. high, with stout rhizomes, copiously
pubescent; leaves about 1 cm. wide, with very scabrous margins, the
sheaths scarcely winged; panicles axillary and terminal, the upper
ones staminate, usually brownish, conspicuously bracteate; achenes
2 mm. long, globose, often purplish, the disk 3-lobate.
Called "navajuela" in Costa Rica, and in Panama "cortadera"
and "cuchillito."
14. Scleria secans (L.) Urban, Symb. Antill. 2: 169. 1900.
Schoenus secans L. Syst. Nat. ed. 10. 865. 1759. Scleria reflexa HBK.
Nov. Gen. & Sp. 1: 232. 1816.
CYPERACEAE OF CENTRAL AMERICA 285
Guatemala; Costa Rica; Panama; in wet soil, chiefly in thickets,
at 700 m. or less. Southern Mexico, West Indies, and South America.
Plants perennial, the culms long and weak, often reclining on
shrubs or scandent to a height of 3 m. or more; leaves 4-7 mm. wide,
stiff, very scabrous on the margins; panicles small, terminal and
axillary, conspicuously bracteate, purplish or castaneous; achene
smooth, white, globose, the disk subentire.
Called "navajuela" in Costa Rica. Both this species and S.
bracteata are great pests in the regions where they occur abundantly,
usually in swamps at low elevations. The stems often form impene-
trable tangles, and the exceedingly sharp-edged leaves cut one's flesh
mercilessly unless great care is exercised when in the vicinity of the
plants.
15. Scleria lacustris C. Wright in Sauvalle, Fl. Cub. 185. 1873.
S. Tonduzii Boeckl. Allgem. Bot. Zeitschr. 2: 160. 1896.
Costa Rica (Rio Tuis, alt. 650 m.). South America; Cuba.
Plants large and coarse, nearly glabrous; leaves 60 cm. long and
11 mm. wide or smaller, the sheaths winged; panicles large, much
branched, rigid, dense, purplish; achenes 3 mm. long, white or
purplish, smooth.
16. Scleria setuloso-ciliata Boeckl. Flora 65: 30. 1882.
Guatemala; type from Mazatenango. Chiapas.
Plants stout, 0.5-1 m. high, tufted; leaves about 1 cm. wide,
scabrous on the margins, the sheaths narrowly winged; panicles
small, dense, with elongate bracts; achenes ovoid, smooth, whitish.
17. Scleria pterota Presl in Oken, Isis 21 : 268. 1828. S. pratensis
Nees in Mart. Fl. Bras. 21: 179. 1842. S. Pittieri Boeckl. Allgem.
Bot. Zeitschr. 2: 159. 1896.
Guatemala; Salvador; Costa Rica; Panama; in forests and
thickets, at 500 m. or less. Mexico, West Indies, and South America.
Plants with short rhizomes, 30-80 cm. high, rather stout, nearly
glabrous; leaves 30 cm. long and 1 cm. wide or smaller; panicles
axillary, small, sparsely branched, green or brownish, the bracts
inconspicuous; achene 2 mm. long, subglobose, the disk 3-lobate.
Known in Panama by the name "cortadera."
18. Scleria melaleuca S. & C. Linnaea 6: 29. 1831.
British Honduras; Guatemala; Honduras; Nicaragua; Costa
Rica; Panama; in wet soil, chiefly in forest or thickets, at 900 m. or
less. Widely distributed in tropical America.
Plants 30-80 cm. high, glabrous or nearly so, with rhizomes;
leaves 20-30 cm. long, 1 cm. wide or less, the sheaths narrowly winged ;
panicles small, axillary, rigid, sparsely branched, purplish; achene
1.5-2 mm. long, subglobose, smooth, shining, the disk 3-lobate.
286 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — BOTANY, VOL. VIII
The name applied to the plant in Honduras is "navajuela."
The species is one of the most common weedy sedges of Central
America. The plant probably is only a color form of S. pterota,
and worthy of recognition only as a variety of that species.
16. CALYPTROCARYA Nees
A genus of about 7 species, in tropical America.
1. Calyptrocarya glomerulata (Brongn.) Urban, Symb. Antill.
2: 169. 1900. Becquerelia Calyptrocarya Brongn. in Duperrey, Voy.
Coquille 2: 163. 1829. C. fragifera Kunth, Enum. PI. 2: 364. 1837.
C. palmetto Nees in Mart. Fl. Bras. 21: 195.
British Honduras; Guatemala; Nicaragua; Costa Rica; Panama;
in forests or swamps, at altitudes of 350 m. or less. Also in South
America.
Plants perennial, with short thick rootstocks, leafy; culms 40 cm.
high or less; leaves linear, 4-6 mm. wide, 3-nerved, usually longer
than the culms, glabrous or nearly so, scabrous on the edges; spikelets
capitate, in axillary corymbs; flowers unisexual; pistillate spikelet
terminal, 1-flowered, without bristles, the staminate spikelets lateral,
1-4-flowered; stamen 1; style bifid; achene brownish, globose, puberu-
lent, about 1 mm. long.
17. HYPOLYTRUM L. Rich.
A genus of about 25 species, in the tropics of both hemispheres.
1. Hypolytrum nicaraguense Liebm. Dansk. Vid. Selsk.
Skrivt. 2:47. 1849.
British Honduras; Guatemala; Nicaragua; Costa Rica (Cocos
Island); Panama; type from Rio San Juan, Nicaragua; growing near
sea level, in swamps or on stream banks. Brazil.
Plants perennial, about 1 m. high, the culms triangular, stout,
leafy; leaves linear, 3 cm. wide, the margins very scabrous; inflores-
cence corymbose-paniculate, many-flowered; flowers unisexual, the
spikelets 3-flowered, the terminal flower pistillate; stamen 1; style
bifid; achene ovoid, 2 mm. long.
18. DIPLASIA L. Rich.
The genus consists of a single species.
1. Diplasia karataefolia L. Rich, ex Pers. Syn. PI. 1: 70. 1805.
Costa Rica (Palmitales de las Lomas del Silencio, Diquis Valley,
alt. 600 m.). Trinidad, Guianas, and Brazil.
A coarse perennial, 1 m. high or more, the culms leafy, triangular;
leaves up to 1 m. long and 5 cm. wide, very scabrous on the margins;
flowers unisexual, 6-9 or more in each spikelet, the lower ones
staminate, the terminal one pistillate; spikes numerous, umbellate-
CYPERACEAE OF CENTRAL AMERICA 287
paniculate, terete, 1.5-3 cm. long, 3 mm. thick, the scales ferruginous,
very obtuse, indurate; stamen 1; style 2-cleft; achene 5 mm. long,
ellipsoid, smooth, dark brown.
Called "zacaton" in Costa Rica.
For some reason unknown to the writer, whether by a slip of the
pen or for some other cause, this plant was reported from Costa
Rica by Clarke (Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 10: 461. 1908) as Dulichium
arundinaceum (L.) Britton, a species to which it certainly bears
little resemblance. Clarke's synonymy and description relate wholly
to the latter plant.
19. MAPANIAAubl.
Large coarse glabrous perennials; spikelets in dense ovoid spikes,
these in dense terminal leafy-bracted heads; spikelets composed of 6
scales, the 2 lower staminate, the 3 above these sterile, the upper-
most pistillate; style 2-3-cleft. — About 35 species, in the tropics of
both hemispheres.
Basal leaves none ; 1. M. sylvatica.
Basal leaves present 2. M. pycnocephala.
1. Mapania sylvatica Aubl. PI. Guian. 1: 47. pi. 17. 1775.
Costa Rica (Carillo, at 300 m.); Panama. Venezuela and the
Guianas; type from French Guiana.
Culms 3(M>0 cm. long; bracts 3, as much as 14 cm. long and 6
cm. wide; spikes few, 1-2 cm. long, ferruginous; style trifid.
2. Mapania pycnocephala Benth. Journ. Linn. Soc. Bot. 15:
512. 1887. Hypolytrum pycnocephalum Benth. Bot. Voy. Sulph.
177. 1844.
Costa Rica (Carillo, at 300 m.). Venezuela and Colombia.
Culms 30-60 cm. long; basal leaves 30-40 cm. long, 2-3 cm.
wide; bracts 3, large, resembling the leaves; heads 1-2 cm. broad,
brown; style bifid.
20. UNCINIA Pers.
Perennials, the culms erect, leafy below; flowers unisexual, spicate;
bracts 2, connate and forming a bicarinate utricle, this enclosing the
ovary; a rudiment of a spikelet present in the utricle, setiform, the
apex exserted and uncinate. — About 25 species, chiefly in the South
Temperate Zone.
Spikes dense, 3 mm. in diameter; perigynia ciliate. . . .1. U. hamata.
Spikes lax, 2 mm. in diameter; perigynia not ciliate 2. U. tennis.
1. Uncinia hamata (Sw.) Urban, Symb. Antill. 2: 169. 1900.
Carex hamata Sw. Prodr. Veg. Ind. Occ. 18. 1788. U. jamaiceTisis
Pers. Syn. PI. 2: 534. 1807. U. mexicana Steud. Syn. PL Gyp. 243.
1855.
288 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — BOTANY, VOL. VIII
Guatemala; Costa Rica; Panama; in virgin mountain forest, at
1,300-3,300 m. Jamaica; southern Mexico; South America.
Plants forming dense clumps, 30-60 cm. high; leaves 2-7 mm.
wide; culms bearing a single spike, this 8-15 cm. long; utricles lanceo-
late; style 3-cleft; bristle more than twice as long as the utricle.
The plant is a very annoying one in the regions where it occurs
abundantly, for the utricles adhere to one's clothes in great numbers by
the hooked bristles, which are so sharp as to penetrate the flesh easily.
2. Uncinia tenuis Kunth, Enum. PI. 2: 525. 1837.
Costa Rica (Volcan de Barba, alt. 2,500 m.). Ranging southward
to Chile.
Plants slender, stoloniferous, about 30 cm. high; leaves equaling
or longer than the culms, about 2 mm. wide; spikes 2.5-4 cm. long,
the utricles glabrous.
21. GAREX L.
Contributed by Kenneth K. Mackenzie
Grasslike sedges, perennial by rootstocks; culms mostly triangular;
leaves 3-ranked, the upper (bracts) elongate or short, and subtending
the spikes of flowers or wanting; plants monoecious or sometimes
dioecious; flowers solitary in the axils of scales (glumes); spikes one
to many, either wholly pistillate, wholly staminate, androgynous or
gynaecandrous; perianth none; staminate flowers of 3 (or rarely 2)
stamens, the filaments filiform; pistillate flowers of a single pistil,
with a style and 2-3 stigmas; achene triangular or lenticular, com-
pletely surrounded by the perigynium. — Species more than 1,000,
widely distributed, most abundant in the temperate zones. In our
area very largely confined to the higher altitudes, and only Carex
polystachya and Carex Donnell-Smithii have been collected in any
quantity.
Spikes sessile (short), forming an interrupted head; stigmas 2;
achenes lenticular.
Perigynia with wing-margined body, broadest at the top.
1. C. albolutescens.
Perigynia with sharp-edged body, broadest towards the base.
Perigynia lanceolate, long-beaked, with the body nearly margin-
less, round-contracted at the base 2. C. Bonplandii.
Perigynia ovate, shorter-beaked, with the body margined,
rounded at the base 3. C. Purdiei.
Spikes in panicles or the lower peduncled; stigmas 3 and achenes
triangular (except in No. 8).
Spikes in panicles; very numerous.
Perigynia glabrous.
CYPERACEAE OF CENTRAL AMERICA 289
Perigynia 2.5-4 mm. long, the beak 1 mm. long; achenes
1.5-2 mm. long; scales 2-3 mm. long. . .4. C. polystachya.
Perigynia 4.5-5 mm. long, the beak 1.5 mm. long; achenes 3
mm. long; scales 3-4.5 mm. long. . . .5. C. Humboldtiana.
Perigynia scabrous-pubescent 6. C. scabretta.
Lateral spikes peduncled (at least the lower).
Perigynia finely pubescent 7. C. planostachys.
Perigynia glabrous.
Lateral spikes staminate at the apex, much elongate, narrowly
linear.
Stigmas 2 8. C. Lemanniana.
Stigmas 3 9. C. DonneU-Smithii.
Lateral spikes pistillate, oblong-cylindric ... 10. C. polysticha.
1. Carex albolutescens Schwein. Ann. Lye. N. Y. 1: 66. 1824.
"C. foenea Willd." ex Ell. Bot. S. Car. 2: 533. 1824. C. straminea
Schkuhr var. foenea Torr. Ann. Lye. N. Y. 3: 395. 1836.
Guatemala (near Coban, at 1,350 m.) ; Costa Rica (in bogs at
1,500^-1,800 m.). Ranging from Massachusetts to northern South
America.
Densely cespitose, the culms 30-80 cm. high, slender but stiff;
leaf blades 2-3.5 mm. (rarely 4.5) mm. wide, the sheath green,
striate ventrally nearly to the mouth; spikes 3-10, gynaecandrous,
silvery-greenish or silvery-brownish, aggregated into a head 2-4 cm.
long, the spikes ovoid, 6-10 mm. long, 4-6 mm. wide, obtusish, the
perigynia numerous, appressed-ascending; scales ovate, obtusish,
shorter than perigynia; perigynia very flat, plano-convex, 3-4 mm.
long, 2 mm. wide, the body broadly obovate, strongly winged and
serrulate, abruptly short-beaked, the beak one-third the length of
the body, at length bidentate; achenes substipitate.
2. Carex Bonplandii Kunth, Enum. PI. 2: 380. 1837. C. hepta-
stachya Boeckl. Linnaea 39: 114. 1875. C. Durandii Boeckl. Allgem.
Bot. Zeitschr. 2: 189. 1896.
Costa Rica, at 2,400-3,100 m. Also in the mountains of northern
South America, extending as far south as Ecuador.
Rootstocks short-creeping, stout, lignescent; culms 25-50 cm.
high, slender but stiff; leaf blades 1.5-2.5 mm. wide, the sheaths
white-hyaline ventrally; spikes 4-12, aggregated into a head 1.5-3
cm. long, the terminal gynaecandrous, the lateral mostly pistillate,
ovoid, 5-12 mm. long, with 6-20 appressed-ascending perigynia;
scales ovate, shorter than perigynia, light brown, acute to short-
cuspidate; perigynia lanceolate, plano-convex, 3-3.5 mm. long, 0.9-
1.25 mm. wide, nearly nerveless ventrally, firm, narrowly sharp-edged
to the round contracted base, serrulate above, tapering into the ser-
rulate, shallowly bidentate beak shorter than the body; achenes
short-stipitate.
290 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — BOTANY, VOL. VIII
3. Carex Purdiei Boott, 111. Car. 1: 26. pi. 67. 1858.
Costa Rica, in the high mountains, at 2,000-3,000 m., on open
wet banks, in paramos, and in sphagnum bogs. Mountains of
northern South America, extending southward to Ecuador.
Rootstocks short-creeping, stout, lignescent; culms 25-80 cm.
high, slender but stiff; leaf blades 1.5-3.5 mm. wide, the sheaths
white-hyaline ventrally; spikes 6-12, aggregated into a head 2-4.5
cm. long, the terminal gynaecandrous, the lateral mostly pistillate,
ovoid, 5-12 mm. long, with 6-20 appressed-ascending perigynia;
scales ovate, shorter than perigynia, light brown, acutish; perigynia
ovate, plano-convex, 3.5 mm. long, 1.5 mm. wide, nearly nerveless
ventrally, thickish, sharp-margined to the rounded base, serrulate
above, contracted into the serrulate, shallowly bidentate beak much
shorter than the body; achenes short-stipitate.
Very closely related to C. Bonplandii. Central American speci-
mens have been referred erroneously to C. echinata Murr., C. tereti-
uscula Good., and C. heptastachya Boeckl.
4. Carex polystachya Sw. ex Wahl. Kongl. Akad. Handl. 24:
149. 1803. C. cladostachya Wahl. loc. cit. 1803. C. mexicana Presl,
Rel. Haenk. 1: 204. 1830. C. Hartwegii Boott ex Benth. PI. Hartw.
96. 1848. C. acrolepis Liebm. Dansk. Vid. Selsk. Skrivt. II. 5: 270.
1851. C. Oerstedii Liebm. op. cit. 272. 1851.
Guatemala; Salvador; Nicaragua; Costa Rica; in mountain
thickets or forest, at 350-2,600 m. West Indies, Mexico, and north-
ern South America.
Rootstocks woody; culms 25-60 cm. high; leaves numerous,
clustered towards the base, the leaf blades thick, stiff, light green,
long-attenuate, very rough, 2-7 mm. wide; spikes very many, in
decompound panicles, androgynous, 5-9 mm. long, 3-4 mm. wide;
scales ovate, many-striate, cuspidate to acute; perigynia narrowly
obovoid, sharply triangular, not inflated, bright green, 2-keeled and
many-nerved, stipitate, abruptly beaked, the beak strongly bidentate,
half the length of the body or less.
This is by far the most abundant Carex of Central America, being,
in fact, the only one that is of at all frequent occurrence. Usually
it has been called C. cladostachya, but the name C. polystachya has
page priority in publication. Both species were described from
Jamaica.
5. Carex Humboldtiana Steud. Syn. Gyp. 208. 1855. "C.
polystachya Sw." ex Kiikenth. in Engl. Pflanzenreich IV. 20: 267.
1909. C. macrosperma Mackenzie, Bull. Torrey Club 36: 477. 1909.
Nicaragua; Costa Rica; Panama; in mountain forest at 1,200-
1,800 m. Mexico, West Indies, and northern South America.
Rootstocks woody; culms 60-100 cm. high; leaves numerous,
clustered towards the base, the leaf blades thick, stiff, light green,
CYPERACEAE OF CENTRAL AMERICA 291
long-attenuate, 2.5-6 mm. wide; spikes very many, in 6-10 erect
peduncled panicles, androgynous, 5-10 mm. long, 4-6 mm. wide;
scales ovate, many-striate, short-awned to obtuse; perigynia elliptic-
obovoid, sharply triangular, not inflated, bright green, 2-keeled and
obscurely nerved, stipitate, abruptly beaked, the beak shallowly
bidentate, half the length of the body or less.
6. Carex scabrella Wahl. Kongl. Akad. Handl. 24: 149. 1803.
Guatemala (vicinity of Secanquim, Alta Verapaz, alt. 350 m.).
West Indies.
Rootstocks stout; culms weak, 5-50 cm. high; leaves clustered
near the base, the leaf blades light green, rather thin, long-attenuate,
0.5-1.5 mm. wide; spikes numerous, in about 5 spikelike panicles
(the upper sessile, the lower long-peduncled), androgynous, with 3-6
ascending perigynia; scales ovate, acutish to awned, several-nerved;
perigynia 3-4 mm. long, the body obovoid, sharply triangular, not
inflated, prominently ribbed, subcoriaceous, tapering at the base,
narrowed into a bidentate beak about 1 mm. long.
7. Carex planostachys Kunze, Suppl. Riedgr. 138. pi. 85. 1840-
1850. "C. Halleriana Asso" ex Bailey, Proc. Amer. Acad. 22: 126.
1886. C. Halleriana subsp. planostachys Kunze ex Kiikenth. in
Engler, Pflanzenreich IV. 20: 488. 1909.
Guatemala, in dry soil near Chacula, at 1,600 m. Northward
through Mexico to northeastern Texas.
Rootstocks short, stout, branching; culms up to 20 cm. high,
rough, brownish at the base; leaves clustered above the base, the
leaf blades 1-2.5 mm. wide, long-attenuate, rough above; terminal
spike staminate, linear, 8-12 mm. long, short-peduncled ; lateral
spikes pistillate, the upper 1 or 2 contiguous, sessile, the lower
slender-peduncled, basal, oblong, 5-10 mm. long, 3-4 mm. wide,
6-12-flowered ; scales lance-ovate, sharp-keeled, acute to cuspidate;
perigynia obovoid-elliptic, 3.5 mm. long, not inflated, many-ribbed,
light green, substipitate, abruptly beaked, the beak 0.5 mm. long,
obliquely cut.
8. Carex Lemanniana Boott, Trans. Linn. Soc. 20: 121. 1846.
C. Lemanniana var. simplex Kiikenth. in Engl. Pflanzenreich IV. 20:
405. 1909. "Carex pichinchensis HBK." ex Boeckl. Linnaea 39: 147,
in part. 1875.
Costa Rica, in the mountains at 2,000 m. or more. Extending
southward in the mountains of South America to Ecuador.
Culms 25-60 cm. high, brownish at the base; leaves numerous, clus-
tered near the base, the leaf blades2.5-8mm. wide, glaucous, coriaceous,
stiff, long-attenuate; inflorescence not or but sparingly compound,
the spikes usually 4-10, androgynous, linear-cylindric, 2-6 cm. long,
3.5-5 mm. wide, the pistillate part 20-40-flowered ; scales lance-ovate,
usually rough-awned, purplish black; perigynia oblong-ovate, 2.5 mm.
long, 1 mm. wide, membranaceous, plano-convex, straw-colored and
292 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — BOTANY, VOL. VIII
strongly purplish-splashed, obscurely striate ventrally, finely several-
nerved dorsally, serrulate above, rounded at the base, abruptly
beaked, the beak straight, 0.5 mm. long, bidentate, the teeth short,
scabrous within.
Central American material of this species has been confused with
the South American species, Carex pichinchensis HBK. and C.
Jamesonii Boott.
9. Carex Donnell-Smithii Bailey, Mem. Torrey Club 1: 56.
1889. C. viridis Boeckl. Linnaea 40: 330, in part. 1876, non Jungh.
1831. C. Pittieri Boeckl. Allgem. Bot. Zeitschr. 2: 190. 1896.
Guatemala; Honduras; Costa Rica; Panama; type from Pansa-
mala, Department of Alta Verapaz, Guatemala; in thickets or forest,
sometimes in paramos or sphagnum bogs, at 1,000-3,000 m.
Culms stout, 30-100 cm. high, purplish at the base; leaves numer-
ous, the lower clustered, the leaf blades 3-10 mm. wide, glabrous,
coriaceous, stiff, long-attenuate; inflorescence compound, 20-60 cm.
long, the lower branches in 2's or 4's, the upper simple; spikes numer-
ous, androgynous, narrowly linear-cylindric, 3-12 cm. long, 3.5-5
mm. wide, the pistillate part rather loosely 20-50-flowered; scales
lance-ovate, usually rough-awned, purplish black; perigynia lanceo-
late, 3.5-4 mm. long, membranaceous, dull green, scarcely inflated,
puncticulate, 2-ribbed and strongly few-nerved, shprt-stipitate,
abruptly beaked, the beak excurved, 1-1.5 mm. long, bidentate, the
teeth stiffish, scabrous within.
Central American specimens of this species have been referred
to Carex Jamesonii Boott, C. Jamesonii var. gradlis Bailey, C.
pichinchensis HBK., and C. viridis S. & C.
10. Carex polysticha Boeckl. Vid. Medd. Kjobenhavn 57. 1869.
C. Underwoodii Britton, Torreya 5: 10. 1905.
Guatemala, near Coban, Alta Verapaz, at 1,350 m. Jamaica and
Santo Domingo; widely distributed in South America.
Rootstocks short, stout; culms 60-120 cm. high, stout, the basal
sheaths purplish-tinged and filamentose; leaves strongly septate-
nodulose, the lower clustered, the blades 8-18 mm. wide, often 30-60
cm. long, light green, stiff; terminal spike staminate, linear, 2-3 cm.
long; lateral spikes 3-6, approximate, spreading or drooping, oblong-
cylindric, 3-4 cm. long, 8-12 mm. wide, densely many-flowered;
scales ovate-lanceolate, rough-awned; perigynia ovoid-lanceolate,
4.5 mm. long, triangular, scarcely inflated, subcoriaceous, olive-
green, strongly ribbed, obliquely short-stipitate, tapering into the
strongly bidentate beak 2 mm. long, the teeth erect, stiff, 1 mm. long.
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11