Scirpus CYPERACEAE Rynchospora 



Culms stout, 50-90 cm. tall: style 2-cleft. 



Culms triangular 4. S. triquctcr 



Culms terete 5. S. validus 



bb. Involucral bracts two or more, leaf-like, 

 c. Spikelets large (7-8 x 10-12 mm.). 



Achene strongly triangular, dark brown 6. S. fluviatilis 



Achene lenticular, light brown 7. S. marilimus 



cc. Spikelets small (2-2.5 x 3-5 mm.). 



Spikelets few, dark brown, in sessile clusters, subtended 



by conspicuous striate slender-tipped bracts 8. S. filipes 



Spikelets many, cinnamon-brown, mostly in pedunculate 



clusters without evident bracts 9. S. ternatanus 



1. Scirpus erectus Poir. MIS (Ying Lin; Firefly Rush) (Mak.F. 811). Coarse, rush- 

 like, 1-10 dm. high; fr. brown, VIII-X. Eastern Asia and eastern North America; 

 locally in An., Che., Ki., Ku. Marshes. 



2. Scirpus mucronatus Linn. 7k Wt (Shui Mao Hua; Water Mildew) (M.F. 118). 

 Coarse, rush-like, 4-10 dm. high; fr. brown, VII-IX. Old World; locally in An., 

 Che., Ku. Marshes. 



3. Scirpus mattfeldianus Kukenth. (Fe.R. 27: 108). Tufted, slender, 15-60 cm. high; 

 fr. cinnamon-brown, IV. Eastern China; locally in An., Che. Moist rocky ground. 



4. Scirpus triqueter Linn. %£$. (Piao Ts'ao; Rush) (H.F. 6: 658). Coarse, rush-like, 

 6-10 dm. high; fr. brown, VI-VIII. Eurasia; locally in Che., Ku. Marshes. 



5. Scirpus validus Vahl Great Bulrush (G.M. 270). Coarse, leafless, 5-9 dm. high; 

 fr. cinnamon-brown, VIII-X. Eastern Asia and North America; locally in Ku. 

 Stream borders. 



6. Scirpus -fluviatilis (Torr.) A. Gray River Bulrush (G.M. 271). Coarse, leafy, 6- 

 12 dm. high; fr. brown, VII-IX. Eastern Asia and North America; locally in Ku. 

 Pond margins. 



7. Scirpus maritimus Linn. MM^k (Hai Chin San Leng; Sea Cyperus) (Mak.F. 811). 

 Coarse, rush-like, 2-10 dm. high; fr. brown, VI-VIII. Old World; locally in Ku. 

 Marshes. 



8. Scirpus filipes C.B. Clarke (F.H.E. 3: 249). Erect, grass-like, 7dm. high; fr. 

 dark brown, IX. Eastern and central China; locally in Ki. Damp meadows. 



9. Scirpus ternatanus Reinw. (S. chinensis Munro) (H.F. 6: 662). Stout, 6-10 dm. 

 high; fr. brown, VI-VIII. Tropical Asia; locally in An., Che., Ku. Marshes. 



12. Rynchospora Vahl Beak Rush $ij#:g (Tz'u Tz'ao Shu) 

 Erect tufted plants with triangular or terete culms from perennial rootstocks: lvs. 

 narrow, mostly at the base of the plant: spikelets in irregular panicles or variously 

 clustered, often in almost globular heads: upper fls. of the spikelet staminate, the 

 lower perfect: style 2-cleft, or rarely entire: achene lenticular to globular, smooth or 

 transversely wrinkled; base of the style thickened and persistent, forming a tubercle or 

 beak on the achene. 175 species, most abundant in tropical America; 5 in China. 

 (Greek: rhynchos, a snout, and spora, a seed, referring to the beaked achene.) 



Key to the Species 



Inn. a clustered panicle, the brs. often widely scattered 1. R- glauca 



var. chinerisis 



Infl. a dense solitary nearly globose head 2. R. rubra 



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