Cyperaceae
Bulbostylis

Bulbostylis hispidula (Vahl) R.W.Haines

First published in R.W.Haines & K.A.Lye, Sedges & Rushes E. Afr., App. 3: 1 (1983)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Tropics & Subtropics to Caucasus. It is an annual or perennial and grows primarily in the subtropical biome. It is used as animal food and a medicine and for food.

Descriptions

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

Type
Type: Guinea, Thonning 349 (C, holo.; MO, P-JU, iso.)
Morphology General Habit
Very polymorphic species 10–80 cm tall, either a tufted perennial with short creeping rhizome with remains of burnt-off basal leaves, or annual with slender root system.
Morphology Stem
Stems 0.3–1 mm thick, angular, ridged, glabrous to densely set with transparent hairs
Morphology Leaves
Leaves 1–15 cm long, 0.2–0.5 mm wide, flat or channeled, usually densely hairy.
Morphology Leaves Leaf sheaths
Sheaths pale, glabrous to densely hairy but always with long slender hairs of up to 15 mm long at the mouth and often giving a woolly appearance
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence simple or compound, lax with one sessile and 2–many additional stalked spikelets or groups of sessile and stalked spikelets or rarely all spikelets sessile.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts
Bracts short or up to 2 cm, green and leaf-like.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets ovoid to elongate, 4–15 mm long, 2–4 mm wide.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Glume
Glumes pale to dark red-brown or almost black, usually with paler midribs and margins, 2.5–4.5 mm long, acute, minutely short-pubescent
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style
Style shortly hairy with 3 branches
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Nutlets pale grey or white to pale or dark brown, obpyriform, 1–1.3 mm long, 1 mm wide, 3-angular, the angles smooth or papillate, with 5–10 transverse wrinkles which have a microsculpture of close longitudinal lines; swollen style-base persistent or not
Figures
Fig. 13, p81
[FTEA]

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
Guinea, Thonning 349 (C holotype, MO, P-JU).
Morphology General Habit
Slender to tufted annual extremely variable in height, up to 40 cm tall; rhizome inconspicuous, seldom exceeding 1.5 mm wide, tunics mostly lacking
Morphology Leaves
Leaves few to numerous, filiform, mostly to 1/3 culm length (shorter in recently germinated and depauperate examples); leaf sheath mouth sloping, long white-fringed, ligule 0; leaf blade apex acute, margins scabrid pubescent
Morphology Culms
Culms terete to slightly flattened, ridged, pilose to glabrescent, hairs mostly spreading from ridges
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence anthelate of 1–13 spikelets, compound or simple, sometimes reduced to a few clustered or one sessile spikelet in depauperate examples; pedicels hispidulous to scabrid when developed, often spreading becoming ± patent; bracts filiform, usually short (up to 20 mm long), sometimes long with a few long white hairs
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets 5–9(15) × 1.8–3.5 mm, polygonal, angled by projecting glume keels and gaping from maturing nutlets, rachilla straight, deeply notched, shortly winged
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Glume
Glumes 2–3.5 × 1–1.4 mm, broadly boat-shaped, often deep chestnut red to almost black, pubescent, margins shortly ciliate, apex emarginate or not, shortly mucronate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens 2, anthers with minute rounded crest, soon drying off
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style
Style 3-angled, 3-branched, base pyramidal to conical, not persistent on mature nutlet
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Nutlet 0.8–1.3 × 0.7–1.1 mm, trigonous, outline obovoid to pyriform (base often narrow), angles smooth or papillate, gynophore minute, surfaces faintly to clearly 5–10 transversely ridged, epidermal cells long-oblong in transverse rows, eventually velate.
Distribution
Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique. Also widely distributed in tropical and subtropical Africa.
Ecology
Grassland, sandy soils and disturbed areas such as old cultivated fields; 500–1600 m.
Conservation
Widespread; not threatened.
[FZ]

Bernal, R., Gradstein, S.R. & Celis, M. (eds.). 2015. Catálogo de plantas y líquenes de Colombia. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. http://catalogoplantasdecolombia.unal.edu.co

Distribution
Colombia
[CPLC]

Distribution
Native to Colombia.
Conservation
IUCN Red List Assessment (2021): LC.
[UPFC]

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/158275/5192314

Conservation
LC - least concern
[IUCN]

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]

Uses

Use Animal Food
Used as animal food.
Use Food
Used for food.
Use Materials
Used as material.
Use Medicines
Medical uses.
[UPFC]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

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

  • Catálogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia

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

  • 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

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

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

  • IUCN Categories

    • IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. 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 2024. 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

  • Plants and People Africa

    • Common Names from Plants and People Africa http://www.plantsandpeopleafrica.com/
    • © Plants and People Africa http://www.plantsandpeopleafrica.com http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia

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