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.

DULICHIUM

Species in genus: 1 sp
Etymology: (Latin: for some sedge)

Native

D. arundinaceum (L.) Britton

THREE-WAY SEDGE

Plant < 10 dm, strongly rhizomed
Leaves cauline, 2–8 cm, 4–8 mm wide, sheathing; uppermost 3-ranked
Inflorescence: spikelets in axillary, raceme-like clusters that emerge from leaf sheaths, generally 5–25 mm; flower bracts 2-ranked, 3–8 mm, strongly veined, tip acute or short-pointed, margin translucent
Flowers bisexual; perianth bristles 5–8, ± 3–8 mm, persistent in fruit, barbs reflexed; stamens 3; stigma 2-branched
Fruit linear-ellipsoid, ± flat, yellow; beak long
Chromosomes: 2n=32
Ecology: Uncommon. Lake, pond margins, often in standing water
Elevation: 1500–2400 m.
Bioregional distribution: Klamath Ranges, Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada
Distribution outside California: to British Columbia; also eastern N.America
Known as fossil from Eur, eastern Asia
Horticultural information: IRR or WET, SUN: 1, 2 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.