Schoenus cuspidatus
Creators: name: Elliott, T. L.
name: Muasya, A. M.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Plantae
Tracheophyta
Liliopsida
Poales
Cyperaceae
Schoenus
Schoenus cuspidatus

description: 4. Key to the species in the Schoenus cuspidatus group (specieswithout numbers are included in Part 1 the revision)
This is an updated, more comprehensive key than that pub-lished in Elliott et al. (2019), and thus, should be referred to when possible. In addition, we recommend also consulting Tables 1 and 2 when identifying specimens to help clarify ambiguities in characters.
1a. Proximal primary inflorescence bract conspicuously expanded at base; longitudinal veins at base of bract often prominent:
2a. Plant widespread throughout South Africa (usually found within 200 km of the S. and E. coasts) and appearing semi-succulent; basal leaves usually less than 150 mm in length:............................................................................... Schoenus auritus
2b. Plant restricted to granitic sites on the Cape Peninsula and not appearing semi-succulent; basal leaves usually greater than 250 mm in length:.................................................................................... Schoenus graminifolius
1b. Proximal primary inflorescence bract not conspicuously expanded at base (or slightly expanded as in S. compactus); longitudi-nal veins at base of bract not prominent:
3a. Spikelets linear-lanceolate (Fig. 1 in Elliott et al., 2019); nutlets narrow ellipsoidal (Fig. 2 in Elliott et al., 2019):
4a. Plants usually greater than 350 mm in height; spikelets 4.5‒7.5 mm in length, often reduced sexually with only male or female organs present:................................................................................ Schoenus ligulatus
4b. Plants less than 340 mm in height; spikelets mostly less than 4.5 mm in length, bisexual spikelets always pres-ent:....................................................................................................... Schoenus exilis
3b. Spikelets lanceolate to ovate (Fig. 1 in Elliott et al., 2019); nut-lets broad ellipsoidal (Fig. 2 in Elliott et al., 2019):
5a. Spikelets lanceolate:
6a. Glume margins with reddish-purple streaks adjacent to the hyaline margins (Fig. 3R in Elliott et al., 2019):
7a. Older leaves usually curled; membranaceous sheaths with reddish-purple streaks:.............................................................. Schoenus bolusii
7b. Older leaves usually straight; sheaths firm (i.e. not membrana-ceous) and red to brown in colour:................... Schoenus submarginalis
6b. Glume margins without reddish-purple streaks adjacent to the hyaline margins (Fig. 3 in Elliott et al., 2019):
8a. Basal leaves reduced in length (usually a third to a quarter of culm length, never over half of culm length):............................ Schoenus crassiculmis
8b. Basal leaves well-developed in length (often over half of culm length):
9a. Spikelets 4.0 mm or less in length; glumes often scarious (i.e. thin and membranaceous):
10a. Plants usually occurring on sandstone substrates; base of culms and sheaths usually brown in colour (only with a tinge of red); leaves stiff and firm so that they are straight: ................................................................................... 1. Schoenus brunnescens
10b. Plants endemic to quartz patches on shale derived soils in the Overberg region of the Western Cape Province of South Africa; base of culms and sheaths usually reddish in colour; leaves lax (not stiff):............................................................................. Schoenus quartziticus
9b. Spikelets usually greater than 4.0 mm in length; glumes firm (i.e. solid):
11a. Plant (including leaves) firm and stiff; inflorescence reddishbrown in colour (often with an orange tinge); prophylls and prophyll mucros thickened and firm:
12a. Inflorescence relatively short and congested (i.e. compact), less than 35 mm in length; rachis between lower spikes relatively short so that clusters of spikes overlapping; primary inflorescence bracts some-times slightly widened at base:................................... 2. Schoenus compactus
12b. Inflorescence longer and not congested, greater than 35 mm in length; rachis between the lower spikes noticeably lengthened so that clusters of spikes only partially overlapping; primary inflores-cence bracts narrow at base:...................................... 3. Schoenus crassus
11b. Plant (including leaves) less firm and stiff so that often appearing lax, often with curled leaves; inflorescence dark brown in colour; prophylls and prophyll mucros not thickened:
13a. Leaves not proximally channelled, usually wide and flat:.............................................................................................. 4. Schoenus loreus
13b. Leaves proximally channelled becoming terete above:
14a. Plants endemic to grassland habitats on mountain slopes in the Kwazulu-Natal and Eastern Cape Provinces of South Africa, as well as adjacent areas of Lesotho; inflorescence with few primary inflorescence bracts so that it does not appear ‘bearded’; glume mucros short or absent (usually less than 0.5 mm in length):................................... 5. Schoenus galpinii
14b. Plants endemic to more southern and western South African locations; inflorescence with many inflorescence bracts developed so that it appears ‘bearded’; glume mucros longer and conspicuous (often greater than 0.5 mm):
15a. Lower glumes cuspidate (i.e. having a cusp or a short, firm tip) and relatively short compared to the length of the spikelet: ..................................................................................... 6. Schoenus cuspidatus
15b. Lower glumes aristate (i.e. with awns) and relatively long compared to the length of the spikelet (i.e. greater than one quarter to one third):
16a. Plants usually less than 360 mm in height, usually five or fewer spikes per panicle:..................................... 7. Schoenus graciliculmis
16b. Plants usually greater than 360 mm in height, usually more than five spikes per panicle:
17a. Plants usually greater than 630 mm tall and restricted to wet-lands on the Cape Peninsula of South Africa; inflorescence relatively long (greater than 50 mm) and wide (usually greater than 12 mm):.............................................................................. 8. Schoenus riparius
17b. Plants usually less than 630 mm tall and occurring off the Cape Peninsula of South Africa; inflorescence relatively short (less than 50 mm) and narrow (usually less than 12 mm):
18a. Plants occurring mostly on coarse-textured (i.e. sand sub-strates) along the southern coast of South Africa; spikelets reddish-brown to dark reddish-brown in colour (Fig. 5I): ................................................................................ 9. Schoenus australis
18b. Plants usually occurring on damp sites in grasslands from KwaZulu-Natal to adjacent regions of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa; spikelets usually light reddish-brown in colour (Fig. 4O in Elliott et al., 2019):............................................................... Schoenus limosus
5b. Spikelets ovate:
19a. Plants endemic to mountains regions of the southern Western Cape province of South Africa; sheaths loose; leaves appearing flat as they are usually not-channelled above lig-ule:........................................................................... Schoenus purpurascens
19b. Plants endemic to the Agulhas Plains region of South Africa; sheaths firm; leaves appearing terete as they are channelled above ligule:
20a. Spikelets with firm prophylls that often shine; prophyll awns greater than 3.0 mm; base of culms terete and with sheath not holding several leaf bases together:.............................................. Schoenus prophyllus
20b. Spikelets with prophylls that are not firm and shining; prophyll awns less than 2.4 mm long; base of culm flattened and with sheath hold-ing several leaf bases together:................................................... Schoenus calceolus
description: Published as part of Elliott, T. L. & Muasya, A. M., 2020, A taxonomic revision of Schoenus cuspidatus and allies (Cyperaceae, tribe Schoeneae) - Part 2, pp. 327-347 in South African Journal of Botany 130 on pages 328-330, DOI: 10.1016/j.sajb.2019.12.015, http://zenodo.org/record/10496754