Scleria secans
Diagnostic description 2
Scleria secans (L.) Urb., Symb. Antill. 2(2):169. 1900.
Basionym: Schoenus secans L.
Perennial herb, rhizomatous, climbing, attainig 5-10 m in length. Culms branched in the distal portion, acutely triquetrous, retrorsely spinulose on the corners, distally hirsute. Leaves alternate, linear, 10-40 × 0.2-0.7 cm, nearly flat or pleated, attenuate at the apex, the upper surface hirsute at the base, the lower surface sparsely hirsute to glabrous, retrorsely scabrous along the midvein and the margins; leaf sheath scaberulous on the angles. Inflorescences of few spikelets, composed of a terminal panicle and 1-3 axillary panicles that are borne from the ultimate leaf; terminal panicle 2.5-6 cm long; the lateral ones shorter. Staminate spikelets shorter than the pistillate ones; sterile scales 4, ovate or ovatelanceolate, 2.5-6 mm long, light or dark brown, reddish or blackish on the margins. Achenes ovoid or oblong-ovoid, rounded at the apex, appressedpubescent, 2.8-4 mm long, white, sometimes with greenish spots; hypogynium discoid, obscurely trilobate, 0.3-1 mm long, the lobes entire, reflexed.
Phenology: Collected in flower and fruit from October to May.
Status: Native, uncommon.
Distribution 3
Distribution: In thickets, along trails, and at the margin of moist forests along the Cordillera Central and the Sierra de Luquillo. Also in the Antilles, Mexico, Central America, and South America.
Public Forests: Carite and El Yunque.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Rob Westerduijn, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2392/2069287898_37de33f606_o.jpg
- (c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435589
- (c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435989
More Info
- iNat taxon page
- Biodiversity Heritage Library
- BOLD Systems BIN search
- Catalogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia
- eFloras.org
- Flora of North America (beta)
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
- HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
- IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
- NatureServe Explorer 2.0
- SEINet Symbiota portals
- Tropicos
- World Flora Online
