Scleria papuana
Content
Description
Perennial.
Leaves in a basal rosette and moreover 1-2 distant on the stem, very gradually narrowed to the long, setaceous tip, glabrous or minutely pubescent beneath, scabrid on the margins, 5-10 mm wide;
Inflorescence narrow, elongate, 30-60 cm long, consisting of a terminal panicle and up to 6 distant lateral ones;
Distribution
Asia-Tropical: New Guinea present, East New Guinea present, Fergusson I present, Hollandia present, Humboldt Bay present, Leron R present, Morobe Distr present, Rouffaer R present, W. New Guinea present
Malesia: New Guinea (W. New Guinea: Hollandia, Rouffaer R., Humboldt Bay; East New Guinea: Fergusson I.; Morobe Distr., Leron R.). .
Notes
This species and the preceding one are only known from a few collections. Apparently they are closely related, as they agree in habit (many leaves in a basal rosette, stems with a few distant leaves only, base of the plant covered with decayed leafsheaths), and in the shape and hairiness of the nut. They differ in the distribution of sexes (S. densispicata has many strictly ♂ spikelets), in the length of the secondary bracts, and in the very dissimilar disk under the nut, characters estimated as very important for specific delimitation in the genus. For this reason the two are treated here on the specific level; possibly additional collections may show the necessity to regard them as geographical races of one single species.