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  1. Family: Cyperaceae Juss.
    1. Genus: Cyperus L.

      1. Cyperus papyrus L.

        This species is accepted, and its native range is Africa.

    [FTEA]

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

    Type
    Type: “Habitat in Calabria, Sicilia, Syria, Aegypto.” Lectotype: Herb. Linn. No. 15: Papyrus (UPS), designated by Simpson in Cafferty & Jarvis (ed.), Taxon 53: 179 (2004)
    Habit
    Perennial, very robust, up to 5.5 m high, with a creeping rhizome, 2–5 cm in diameter, with a white central part of air-tissue and a lighter brown harder outside cylinder; the outside of the rhizome densely covered by blackish scales 5–10 × 5–10 mm wide.
    Rhizomes
    Rhizome with many roots.
    Culms
    Culms 200–500 cm long, basally 1–2.6 cm wide, apically 0.4–1 cm wide, trigonous, sometimes almost rounded, glabrous
    Leaves
    Leaf blades absent Leaf sheath brown to black, thick and leathery to sometimes almost woody, 4–26 cm long, glabrous.
    Bracts
    Involucral bracts pale-brown, 3–10. Leaf-like, spreading, lowermost 6–18 cm long, 0.8–1.7 cm wide, glabrous
    Inflorescences
    Inflorescence simple, primary branches up to 350, 7–40 cm long, triquetrous to rounded, at the base of the branches with reddish brown tubular prophylls 2.5–6 cm long.
    Spikelets
    Spikelets on an elongated axis at the end of primary or secondary branches, up to 40 per axis, lanceolate to cylindric, 2.7–10 mm long, 0.4–1.3 mm wide, axis straight.
    Glume
    Glumes pale brown to golden, ovate to obovate, 1.3–2.3 mm long, 0.8–1.2 mm wide, keel flattened, sometimes green, apex obtuse
    Stamens
    Stamens 3.
    Filaments
    Filaments 1.6–2.2 mm long.
    Anthers
    Anthers 0.6–1.4 mm long
    Style
    Style with 3 branches
    Fruits
    Nutlet grey, ellipsoid to ovoid, trigonous, 0.9–1.4 mm long, 0.4–0.5 mm wide, ± smooth
    Figures
    Fig. 31, p210
    Ecology
    Swamps and lake edges and -shores, sometimes forming dense and impenetrable floating mats in deeper water; 300–2000 m
    Conservation
    Least Concern (LC) due to its widespread distribution and abundance
    Distribution
    Range: Widespread in Africa; Mediterranean Flora districts: U2 U3 U4 K3 K4 T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 Z
    [FWTA]

    Cyperaceae, Miss S. S. Hooper. Flora of West Tropical Africa 3:2. 1972

    Habit
    Stems spongy, up to 5 m. high
    Inflorescences
    Characteristic mop-like inflorescences of very numerous primary, often sterile rays
    Ecology
    Forming rafts in open water and fringing lakes.

    Images

    Distribution

    Native to:

    Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cape Provinces, Central African Repu, Chad, Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Rwanda, Réunion, Senegal, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zaïre

    Introduced into:

    California, Costa Rica, Cuba, Florida, Hawaii, Jamaica, Juan Fernández Is., Leeward Is., Louisiana, Nansei-shoto, Palestine, Puerto Rico, Sicilia, Spain, Thailand, Trinidad-Tobago, Windward Is.

    Common Names
    English
    Paper plant, Papyrus

    Cyperus papyrus L. appears in other Kew resources:

    Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status
    Dec 1, 1891 Illegible. [s.n.], Congo K000321320 Unknown type material
    22203.000
    Scott, L. [s.n.], Malawi K000362973 lectotype

    First published in Sp. Pl.: 47 (1753)

    Accepted by

    • Lye, K.A. & Thery, P. (2012). Flore du Gabon 44: 1-230. Muséum National D'Histoire Naturelle, Paris.
    • Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & Strong, M.T. (2012). Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98: 1-1192.
    • Hoenselaar, K., Verdcourt, B. & Beentje, H. (2010). Cyperaceae Flora of Tropical East Africa: 1-466.
    • Dobignard, D. & Chatelain, C. (2010). Index synonymique de la flore d'Afrique du nord 1: 1-455. Éditions des conservatoire et jardin botaniques, Genève.
    • Govaerts, R. & Simpson, D.A. (2007). World Checklist of Cyperaceae. Sedges: 1-765. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
    • Sosef, M.S.M. & al. (2006). Check-list des plantes vasculaires du Gabon Scripta Botanica Belgica 35: 1-438.
    • Akoègninou, A., van der Burg, W.J. & van der Maesen, L.J.G. (eds.) (2006). Flore Analytique du Bénin: 1-1034. Backhuys Publishers.
    • Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & Strong, M.T. (2005). Monocotyledons and Gymnosperms of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands Contributions from the United States National Herbarium 52: 1-415.
    • Boulos, L. (2005). Flora of Egypt 4: 1-617. Al Hadara Publishing, Cairo.
    • Hammel, B.E. & al. (2003). Manual de Plantas de Costa Rica 2: 1-694. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis.
    • Govaerts, R. (1999). World Checklist of Seed Plants 3(1, 2a & 2b): 1-1532. MIM, Deurne.
    • Jones, M. (1991). A checklist of Gambian plants: 1-33. Michael Jones, The Gambia College.
    • Boulvert, Y. (1977). Catalogue de la Flore de Centrafrique 2(2): 1-94. ORSTOM, Bangui.
    • Walker, E.H. (1976). Flora of Okinawa and the southern Ryukyu islands: 1-1159. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C., U.S.A.

    Literature

    Flora of West Tropical Africa
    • Berhaut, Fl. Sén. ed. 2, 379 (1967).
    • Kük. in Engl., Pflanzenr. Cyper. 45 (1935)
    • F.T.A. 8: 374
    • Sp. Pl. 47 (1753)
    Kew Backbone Distributions
    • Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & Strong, M.T. (2012). Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98: 1-1192.
    • Sosef, M.S.M. & al. (2006). Check-list des plantes vasculaires du Gabon Scripta Botanica Belgica 35: 1-438.
    • Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & Strong, M.T. (2005). Monocotyledons and Gymnosperms of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands Contributions from the United States National Herbarium 52: 1-415.
    • Hammel, B.E. & al. (2003). Manual de Plantas de Costa Rica 2: 1-694. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis.
    • Jones, M. (1991). A checklist of Gambian plants: 1-33. Michael Jones, The Gambia College.
    • Boulvert, Y. (1977). Catalogue de la Flore de Centrafrique 2(2): 1-94. ORSTOM, Bangui.
    • Walker, E.H. (1976). Flora of Okinawa and the southern Ryukyu islands: 1-1159. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C., U.S.A.
    Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • Fl. Eth. 6: 441. fig. 212.73 (1997).
    • Haines & Lye, Sedges & Rushes E. Afr.: 177, figs. 336, 337 (1983)
    • E.P. 4, 20 (101): 45 (1936)
    • F.T.A. 8: 374 (1902)
    • Sp. Pl. 1: 47 (1753)

    Sources

    Art and Illustrations in Digifolia
    Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

    Flora of Tropical East Africa
    Flora of Tropical East Africa
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

    Flora of West Tropical Africa
    Flora of West Tropical Africa
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

    Herbarium Catalogue Specimens
    'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

    Kew Backbone Distributions
    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2019. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

    Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone
    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2019. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. 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/