Cyperaceae
Bulbostylis

Bulbostylis laniceps C.B.Clarke ex T.Durand & Schinz

First published in Mém. Couronnés Autres Mém. Acad. Roy. Sci. Belgique 53(Études Fl. Congo): 306 (1896)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Tropical Africa. It is a perennial and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

Cyperaceae, Miss S. S. Hooper. Flora of West Tropical Africa 3:2. 1972

Morphology General Habit
Densely tufted plant
Morphology Leaves
Fine leaves
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Spherical inflorescences which are white-woolly when young
Ecology
Grassland.
[FWTA]

J. Browning, K.D. Gordon-Gray†, M. Lock, H. Beentje, K. Vollesen, K. Bauters, C. Archer, I. Larridon, M. Xanthos, P. Vorster, J. Bruhl, K. Wilson and X. Zhang (2020). Flora Zambesiaca Volume: 14: Cyperaceae. M.Á. García, J.R. Timberlake (Eds). Kew Publish

Type
Equatorial Guinea, Grand Corisco Is., x.1862, Mann 1885 (K holotype).
Morphology General Habit
Perennial up to 50 cm tall, densely tufted, somewhat swollen at base
Morphology Leaves
Leaf sheath mouth sloping, sparsely white bearded to more densely woolly; leaf blades 1/4 to 1/3 culm length, 0.25–0.3 mm wide, filiform, channelled, minutely setaceous
Morphology Culms
Culms scapose, 0.3–0.9 mm wide, glabrous
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence terminal, capitate, c. 10 × 10 mm, with many closely-packed sessile spikelets interspersed by long white hairs; bracts 3–4, unequal, narrow, longest c. 20 mm, with many long white hairs
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets 4–6 mm long, not flattened, reflexed
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Glume
Glumes 3–4 mm long, distichous, ovate, acute to acuminate, lower with short or obsolete mucro, flank 1-nerved with brown patch, margin ciliate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens 3; anther 1.5 mm long, apiculate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style
Style 3-branched, base small, persistent
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Nutlet 0.8–1 × 0.6–0.7 mm, obovoid, trigonous, smooth to colliculate, white when immature, brown to red-brown at maturity.
Distribution
Zambia. Also in West Africa, Congo, D.R. Congo and Angola.
Ecology
In grassland or seasonal dambos on sandy or peaty damp soil; 800–1400 m.
Conservation
Widespread; not threatened.
Recognition
Bulbostylis laniceps closely resembles B. fimbristyloides. Apart from size, few morphological differences are seen, B. fimbristyloides being approximately half the size of B. laniceps with a tendency to appear to be an annual and grow on damp lateritic outcrops in the Mwinilunga area of NW Zambia.
[FZ]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    • Flora Zambesiaca
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of West Tropical Africa

    • Flora of West Tropical Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2026. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2026. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0