Home
Perennial forming clumps of short stout horizontal or ascending rhizomes covered by leaf-sheaths. Leaves up to 25 cm long, 0.5-1 mm wide; sheaths much shorter than blades, gradually dilated towards the base, dark brown with paler margins, smooth, sometimes verrucose below, tapering to a small ligule; lamina linear, flattened, glabrous, longitudinally furrowed, tending to be spirally twisted; apex acute. Peduncles up to 37 cm long, 0.2-0.5 mm in diameter, 2-ridged, particularly above, glabrous; spike ellipsoid to obconical, ±7 mm long, 4-5 mm in diameter; sterile bracts broadly ovate, acute, ±3 mm long, 2.5 mm wide, coriaceous, blackish brown with a broad scarious paler margin, becoming lacerate with age; fertile bracts similar but narrower, keeled towards the apex, mucronate. Lateral sepals ±4.5 mm long, keeled, margins membranous, laciniate, keel finely and bluntly denticulate, often only below, excurrent above in a mucro; corolla yellow, tube ±4 mm long, lobes broadly obovate, ±3 mm long, 2 mm wide, entire. Stamens with filaments ±0.5 mm long; anthers 2 mm long; staminodes bifurcate, each branch with a bunch of long hairs. Fruit and seeds not seen.
Tufted perennials up to c. 0.3 m tall; rhizome hard, compact, densely covered with dark, hard shiny sheathing leaf-bases and cataphylls up to c. 50 mm long; roots thin. Leaves grass-like, numerous, linear, 0.35 m long and 1 mm wide, soft, thin. Spikes on long thin peduncles up to c. 0.55 m long; ellipsoid to obovoid, 5-8-flowered, up to 7.5 mm long and 5 mm in diam. Bracts strongly carinate above, acute, 5-7 mm long, dark shiny brown with a broad scarious margin, lacerate with age. Flowers: several often flowering simultaneously on one spike. Lateral sepals obovate-attenuate, keeled, keel not winged, fringed with a short distinct puberulence, especially medially, rarely glabrous. Calyptriform sepal deep orange-red. Petals yellow, lobes rotundate, coarsely dentate. Stamens and staminodes typical. Stigmas dilated, fimbriate. Capsule oblong-ovoid, c. 4 mm long; seeds typical.
Tufted, perennial herb, up to 300 mm high. Leaves clustered on compact rhizomes; blade linear, flat, soft; bases dark brown, persistent. Flowers: heads obovoid, flattened at tip, 6-8-flowered; bracts blackish brown; lower bracts larger, terminating in scarcely projecting sharp points; bract margins papery, splitting, appearing raggedly toothed; keels of lateral sepals with fine hairs and blunt teeth; Nov.-Jan.
Tufted, perennial herb, up to 300 mm tall. Leaves clustered on compact rhizomes, linear. Spikes ellipsoid to obovoid, ± 6-flowered. Lower bracts larger than upper. Bracts with scarious splitting margins. Flowers yellow.
