CYPERACEAE

SEDGE FAMILY

Raymond Cranfill, except as specified

Annual or perennial herb, often rhizomed, often of wet open places, generally monoecious; roots fibrous, hairy
Stem generally 3-sided
Leaves often 3-ranked; sheath generally closed; ligule generally 0; blade (0) various, parallel-veined
Inflorescence: spikelets variously clustered; flowers generally sessile in axil of flower bract
Flower small, generally wind-pollinated; perianth 0 or bristle-like; stamens generally 3, anthers attached at base, 4-chambered; ovary superior, 1-chambered, 1-ovuled, style 2–3-branched
Fruit: achene, generally 3-sided
Genera in family: ± 110 genera, 3600 species: worldwide, especially temp
Reference: [Tucker 1987 J Arnold Arbor 68:361–445]
Difficult: taxa differ in technical characters of inflorescence and fruit.

KYLLINGA

Gordon C. Tucker

Perennial, glabrous
Stem erect, 2–100 cm
Leaves basal, linear
Inflorescence: bracts 2–4; spikelets 50–100+, 1–2-flowered, slender-elliptic, breaking apart just above 2 basal flower bracts at maturity, in 1–3, sessile, dense, ovoid, light green spikes; flower bracts 2-ranked, 4–5 per spikelet, 2 at base << others, 3rd subtending a bisexual flower, 4th (and rarely 5th) ± = 3rd but sterile or subtending staminate flower
Flower: perianth 0; stamens 1–3; stigmas 2
Fruit lenticular, ± smooth, brown
Etymology: (P. Kylling, Danish botanist, died 1696)
Reference: [Tucker 1984 Rhodora 86:507–538]

Introduced

K. brevifolia Rottb.

Plant rhizomed
Stems 1–6, 2–55 cm
Inflorescence: longest bract erect; spikelets 2.2–3.2 mm, oblong-lanceolate, in 1–3 spikes 4–7 mm
Fruit 1–1.3 mm, ± elliptic, ± stalked
Ecology: Lawns, ditches, croplands
Elevation: 0–300 m.
Bioregional distribution: Great Central Valley, Southwestern California, Desert
Distribution outside California: tropical and warm temperate; native to tropical America
Flowering time: Jul–Sep