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

1138 XYRIDACEAE/XYRIS
as or slightly overtopped by the leaves. Often very abundant in nutrient-rich ditches, marshes,
stock tanks, and lake margins, in shallow water or wet ground; nearly throughout TX; s U.S. n to
VA, NE, WY, and OR. Apr–Jul. During pioneer days, the creeping rhizomes “… were eaten, the
abundant pollen was mixed with flour for the making of pancakes, and the young female inflorescences
were boiled and eaten like miniature roasting ears” (Crosswhite 1980).
Typha latifolia L., (broad-leaved), COMMON CAT-TAIL, BROAD-LEAF CAT-TAIL, TULE ESPADILLA. Plant
to ca. 3 m tall; leaf blades 1–2.3(–2.9) cm wide (fresh), 0.5–1.6(–2) cm wide (dry). Ditches,
marshes, stock tanks, and lake margins, in shallow water or wet ground; throughout much of
TX; throughout most of Canada and the U.S. Apr–Jun. These rhizomatous plants often spread to
form large stands. m/306
Ty pha angustifolia L., (narrow-leaved), NARROW-LEAF CAT-TAIL, is similar to T. domingensis but
can be distinguished by the inflorescences much overtopped by the leaves and by the characters
in the following key. This apparently introduced species (from Europe—Stuckey &
Salamon 1987) was cited for s TX by Correll and Johnston (1970) and for the Pineywoods by
Hatch et al. (1990). Jones et al. (1997) synonymized T. angustifolia with T. domingensis, while
Kartesz (1999) indicated that T. angustifolia does not occur in TX. The recent treatment of
Typha for Flora of North America (Smith 2000) indicated that T. angustifolia is a distinct species,
but it is mainly northern, does not occur in TX, and only reaches OK sporadically. Smith
(2000) separated T. angustifolia and T. domingensis as follows: I
1. Mucilage glands present on adaxial surface of all of sheath and usually about 1–10 cm of adjacent
blade; pistillate bracteole tips much paler than to about same color as stigmas, straw-colored to
light brown, mostly acute to acuminate, in mature spikes exceeding pistil hairs; pistil hair tips
colorless to usually orangish (or slightly brownish in hybrids), not evidently enlarged, or often
with 1 subapical, orange, swollen cell evident at 20–30 �; pistillate spikes bright cinnamon- to
orange-brown; leaf sheath summits tapered to blade or sometimes with membranous auricles
_____________________________________________________________________________ T. domingensis
1. Mucilage glands absent from adaxial surface of blade and generally from central part of sheath
near sheath summit; pistillate bracteole tips darker than (or as dark as) stigmas, very dark to
medium brown, rounded (to acute), in mature spikes about equaling pistil hairs; pistil hair tips
medium brown, distinctly enlarged at 10–20 � magnification; pistillate spikes medium to dark
brown; leaf sheath summits with membranous auricles (these often disintegrating late in season)
______________________________________________________________________________ T. angustifolia
XYRIDACEAE C. Agardh
YELLOW-EYED-GRASS FAMILY
AA small (over 300 species in 5 genera—Kral 2000a; Kral, pers. comm.) family of mainly tropical
and warm area herbs with a few in temperate regions; they usually occur in wet acidic habitats.
The family seems to have a close relationship with Eriocaulaceae (Linder & Kellogg 1995;
Stützel 1998; Givnish et al. 1999; Reveal & Pires 2002) or possibly Mayacaceae (Davis et al.
2004). (subclass Commelinidae—Cronquist; order Poales—APG II)
FAMILY RECOGNITION IN THE FIELD: grass-like or rush-like, moist or wet area herbs with basal
leaves and long naked flowering stalks terminated by small, head-like or cone-like spikes with
conspicuous brownish bracts subtending the usually yellow flowers.
REFERENCES: Kral 1979a, 1983, 1992, 2000a; Dahlgren et al. 1985; Rudall & Sajo 1999.
XYRIS L. YELLOW-EYED-GRASS
Perennial (except X. jupicai), tufted or solitary, grass- or rush-like scapose herbs; leaves basal,
linear to filiform, 2-ranked, equitant; flowering stalks (= scapes) terminated by a head-like or