keys to the vascular plants of east texas - Botanical Research ...

REFERENCES: Coville 1890; Bush 1905; Svenson 1957; Kral 1978, 2002a; Tucker 1987.
FUIRENA/CYPERACEAE 613
1. Plants annual, without rhizomes; anthers 0.5–0.7 mm long.
2. Perianth blades (pull back scales of spikelets to observe) with apex obtuse to truncate or
retuse, usually with a subapical bristle, this with down-pointing barbs (tip of barb below attachment);
achenes pale brown to nearly white ___________________________ F. simplex var. aristulata
2. Perianth blades tapering to an acuminate tip, without a subapical bristle (note: the acuminate
tip does not have barbs); achenes deep lustrous brown or reddish brown ________________ F. pumila
1. Plants perennial, with rhizomes; anthers 0.9–2 mm long.
3. Bristles of perianth (typically three per flower in addition to the three stalked-bladed perianth
parts) incurved, very short, no longer than the stipe of the achene, without barbs or with
minute up-pointing barbs (tip of barb above attachment); perianth blades with apex obtuse
or acute, neither conic nor acuminate; lower leaf sheaths with pubescence, the middle and
especially the upper ones � glabrous ______________________________________________ F. breviseta
3. Bristles of perianth erect or spreading, much longer, reaching well past the middle of the
achene and sometimes longer than the achene, without barbs or with down-pointing barbs
(tip of barb below attachment); perianth blades with apex either acuminate OR conic and
swollen; all leaf sheaths either with pubescence OR lower leaf sheaths with pubescence, the
middle and especially the upper ones � glabrous.
4. Upper leaf sheaths glabrous; perianth blades usually with a subapical bristle, the apex flattish
or notched or turgid and conic; rhizomes simple, lacking corm-like shoot buds ____________ F. simplex
var. simplex
4. Upper leaf sheaths with obvious pubescence; perianth blades without a subapical bristle,
the apex either conic and swollen or acuminate; rhizomes producing corm-like shoot buds.
5. Perianth blades with apex thinnish or thickened, acuminate, incurved; bristles of perianth
retrorsely barbellate; anthers 1.3 mm or less long; swollen corm-like buds of rhizome
not separated by narrower internodes ___________________________________ F. squarrosa
5. Perianth blades swollen at maturity, narrowing to the conic and erect, sometimes apiculate
apex; bristles of perianth smooth; anthers ca. 2 mm long; swollen corm-like buds
of rhizome often separated by narrow internodes longer than corm width ______________ F. bushii
Fuirena breviseta (Coville) Coville, (short-bristled), SALTMARSH UMBRELLA SEDGE. Rhizomatous
perennial to 50(–100) cm tall, the stems developing from corm-like buds; lowermost leaf sheaths
hispid, the upper ones nearly glabrous; spikelets 10–15(–20) mm long; perianth blades with apex
obtuse or acute, neither conic nor acuminate; bristles of perianth incurved, very short, no longer
than the stipe of the achene. Bogs, wet places, sandy soils; Hardin, Harris, Montgomery, Newton,
Tyler (BRIT), Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, and Morris (Turner et al. 2003) cos; also Gulf Prairies and
Marshes; se U.S. from VA s to FL w to TX. Jul–Oct. [F. squarrosa Michx. var. breviseta Coville] This
species can be readily distinguished by its very short perianth bristles, these not reaching the base
of the blades of the stalked-bladed perianth parts; the bristles are also without barbs or weakly,
usually upwardly barbed (vs. bristles reaching the blades of the perianth parts and often downwardly
barbed in the other four East TX species). This species has often been synonymized with
F. squarrosa; however, that species can be distinguished by its stalked-bladed perianth parts being
acuminate and by its upper leaf sheaths having obvious pubescence (Kral 1978).
Fuirena bushii Kral, (for its discoverer, Benjamin Franklin Bush, 1858–1937, postmaster in MO
and amateur botanist), BUSH’S UMBRELLA SEDGE. Rhizomatous perennial to 1 m tall, the rhizomes
producing corm-like shoot buds; leaf sheaths strongly hirsute; leaf blades with pubescence;
spikelets 10–15(–20) mm long; bristles of perianth reaching at least to base of blades of stalkedbladed
perianth parts. Wet, acidic, usually sandy areas; widespread in East TX; AR, LA, OK, and
TX. Jun–Oct. [F. ciliata Bush]
Fuirena pumila (Torr.) Spreng., (dwarf, very small), DWARF UMBRELLA SEDGE. Cespitose annual
8–30(–60) cm tall; leaf sheaths nearly glabrous to hispid; spikelets 5–8(–12) mm long; bristles of