| TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL (1993) |
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©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California
For up-to-date information about California vascular plants, visit the Jepson eFlora. |
AND IS MAINTAINED FOR ARCHIVAL PURPOSES ONLY |
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.
Annual or perennial herb, glabrous
Stems generally > 1, erect, 2–100 cm, 3-angled or round
Leaves basal; blades 0 or linear
Inflorescence: bracts 1–9, leaf-like, spreading or erect; rays < 10 cm; spikelets flat to ± cylindric; flower bracts 2-ranked, 1 per flower, 2–36 per spikelet
Flower bisexual; perianth 0; stigmas generally 3
Fruit (ob)ovoid, generally 3-angled, brown, generally not beaked
Etymology: (Greek: name for 1 sp.)
Reference: [Tucker 1983 Syst Bot Monogr 2:1–85]
Mature fruit generally needed for identification. C. unioloides R. Br. and C. virens Michx. probably only waifs in CA.
| Introduced |
Perennial 30–130 cm, cespitose; rhizome short, oblique
Stem densely bumpy or warty
Leaf: blade stiff, margin harshly scabrous
Inflorescence: bracts 3–12, 4–90 cm; rays 3–12, 10–160 mm; spikelets 3–7 mm, oblong-elliptic, subcylindric, reddish brown, in dense, cylindric spikes 10–35 mm, these in clusters of 3–7 at ray-ends; flower bracts 3–5 per spikelet, 2.5–3.3 mm, ovate, 9–11-veined, persistent
Fruit 1.5–1.6 mm, widely elliptic to obovoid, finely pitted
Ecology: Uncommon. Wet soil, canyons, ditches near ocean
Elevation: ± 0 m.
Bioregional distribution: Central Coast (San Francisco), s South Coast (San Diego)
Distribution outside California: native to FL, Mexico, Brazil, w Africa