Cyperaceae
Bulbostylis

Bulbostylis oritrephes (Ridl.) C.B.Clarke

First published in Trans. Linn. Soc. London, Bot. 4: 54 (1894)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Tropical & S. Africa. It is a perennial and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

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
Angola, Golungo Alto, mountains E of Quilombo, Sobato Quilombo, i.1855, Welwitsch 7016 (LISU syntype, BM); slope of Queta Mt, xi.1855, Welwitsch 7020 (LISU syntype, BM, K).
Morphology General Habit
Perennial to 90 cm tall; rhizome conspicuous, woody, sympodial, up to 90 × 3–4 mm, of swollen shoot bases confluent in a uniseriate or sometimes biseriate row, clothed in golden to blackish closely imbricate scale leaves to 10 mm long
Morphology Leaves
Leaves variable, sometimes appearing undeveloped, usually 1/20th to half culm length; leaf bases sheathing, mouths sloping, conspicuously long white-bearded, ligule 0; leaf blades 4–200 × 0.2–0.5 mm, filiform to setaceous, densely to sparsely white villous, hairs mostly confined to nerves (often inconspicuous unless plant held against a light source)
Morphology Culms
Culms slender, developed from only most recent 4–6 rhizome sections, stiffly erect when short (early in growing season following fire), elongating remarkably to c. 100 cm long by fruit maturation, densely villous below to glabrescent/glabrous above
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence variable, often on individual clones, up to 27 × 24 mm, anthelate of central sessile spikelet with 1–5 glabrous inflorescence branches, or less often of 2–3 sessile clustered units; bracts 2(4), to 22 mm long, shorter than or equal to inflorescence; bases sheathing, blades pilose
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets 4–12 × 1.5–3 mm, ovate oblong to lanceolate oblong
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Glume
Glumes 2.4–3.6 × 2.3 mm, ovate, dark chestnut red to black, short white pubescent abaxially, keel prominent, apex rounded to mucronate, margin densely shortly white-fringed
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens 3
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style
Style 3-branched, 1.4–2.4 mm long, 3-angled, base round, vertically flattened, persistent on nutlet
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Nutlet 0.9–1.3 × 0.6–1 mm, rounded obovoid, grey to brown at maturity, surface finely wrinkled.
Distribution
Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi. Also in Guinea to Cameroon, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, D.R. Congo, Angola, South Africa (Eastern Cape, Free State, North West, Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal), Lesotho and Swaziland.
Ecology
Montane grasslands, burnt or unburnt, and montane marshland; 1300–2500 m.
Conservation
Widespread; not threatened.
[FZ]

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

Vegetative Multiplication Rhizomes
Characterised by the seriate rhizome composed of swollen stem bases covered by reddish scales
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Also characterized by the few dark spikelets with, when flowering, very conspicuous anthers
Ecology
Upland grassland, often on bare rock.
[FWTA]

Cyperaceae, K Hoenselaar, B. Verdcourt & H. Beentje. Hypolytrum, D Simpson. Fuirena, M Muasya. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 2010

Type
Type: Angola, Golungo Alto, mountains E of Quilombo, Sobato Quilombo, Welwitsch 7016 & slope of Queta Mt, Welwitsch 7020 (LISU, syn.; BM, K, isosyn.)
Morphology General Habit
Slender perennial 3–40 cm tall with rhizome composed of characteristic confluent swollen stem bases.
Morphology Stem
Stem 0.3–0.5 mm thick with many white spreading hairs 0.2–0.4 mm long below but almost glabrous above
Morphology Leaves
Leaves 2–6 cm long, 0.2–0.5 mm wide, flat, usually densely hairy.
Morphology Leaves Leaf sheaths
Sheaths grey to reddish or golden brown, glabrous or pubescent and few to many flexuous hairs at the throat
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence with 3(–10**) spikelets (** Lye gives ‘fide Napper’ but I cannot find any mention of this species by her), one sessile surrounded by 1–2 stalked ones.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts
Bracts shorter than, or 2–3 × as long as, the sessile spikelet.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets 4–8 mm long, 2 mm wide.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Glume
Glumes dark reddish brown or blackish with paler midrib, subulate or acuminate at the apex, pubescent and with short marginal hairs
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Nutlets pale brown, rounded obovoid, 1.2 mm long, 1 mm wide, wrinkled and with close microscopic ribbing.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style
Style base flattened, persistent.
Ecology
Burnt grassland, grassy hillsides, wooded grassland, shallow rocky soil, dried-up swamps, roadsides, mostly dry places; 1150–2400 m
Note
C.B. Clarke annotated Scott Elliot 8047 as B. uniseriata sp. nov. but this was not published and later he thought it was B. trichobasis. The name has appeared in literature e.g. De Wildem. in Pl. Bequaert. 4: 198 (1927) “as uniseriata as a variety” and Brodard in Ann. Fac. Sci. Univ. Dakar 9: 70 (1963), but has never been validated. The specific epithet probably means ‘mountain-bred’.
Distribution
Flora districts: U1 U2 U3 U4 K (fide Haines & Lye); T1 T3 T4 T7 Range: Guinea to Cameroon, Congo-Kinshasa, Rwanda, Angola, South Africa
[FTEA]

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 Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • 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