Fimbristylis squarrosa var. squarrosa
Content
Distribution
Africa present, Asia-Temperate: Korea present, Asia-Tropical, Japan present, N. America absent, S. America present, S. Europe present, tropical and warm-temperate regions of Asia present
F. squarrosa var. squarrosa is widely distributed in the tropical and warm-temperate regions of Asia (also in Japan and Korea, but absent from Malesia), S. Europe, Africa, and S. America (not in N. America).
Notes
KOYAMA (1957) thinks that the E. and S. China Seas draw a clear line of demarcation between the areas of the two varieties, but in E. Asia there is a considerable overlapping.
The collections mentioned by under F. squarrosa belong partly to F. aestivalis, partly to F. merrillii. The only Philippine collection of F. squarrosa var. esquarrosa I have seen is CURRAN FB 16783, distributed as F. aestivalis.
F. squarrosa is intimately related to F. aestivalis, with which F. VON MULLER, Fragm. 9 (1875) united it. KOYAMA, 1961, followed VON MULLER, possibly with good reason. For, although typical F. squarrosa is clearly distinct from F. aestivalis by the much longer, strongly recurved mucros of the glumes giving the spikelets a squarrose aspect, and by the long pendent hairs of the style-base (taken by NEES for fibres of the pericarp!), the mucros of var. esquarrosa do not differ from those of F. aestivalis. So the trichomes of the style-base (absent or very short in F. aestivalis), the slightly longer style and the often somewhat larger nut are the only characters to distinguish between F. squarrosa var. esquarrosa and F. aestivalis. Anyway, by assigning specific rank to var. esquarrosa (F. velata), its taxonomic value is over-estimated. According to TANAKA the chromo- some number in var. squarrosa is n = 10, in var. esquarrosa n = 12. See also KERN, 1955 and 1961.
The collections mentioned by under F. squarrosa belong partly to F. aestivalis, partly to F. merrillii. The only Philippine collection of F. squarrosa var. esquarrosa I have seen is CURRAN FB 16783, distributed as F. aestivalis.
F. squarrosa is intimately related to F. aestivalis, with which F. VON MULLER, Fragm. 9 (1875) united it. KOYAMA, 1961, followed VON MULLER, possibly with good reason. For, although typical F. squarrosa is clearly distinct from F. aestivalis by the much longer, strongly recurved mucros of the glumes giving the spikelets a squarrose aspect, and by the long pendent hairs of the style-base (taken by NEES for fibres of the pericarp!), the mucros of var. esquarrosa do not differ from those of F. aestivalis. So the trichomes of the style-base (absent or very short in F. aestivalis), the slightly longer style and the often somewhat larger nut are the only characters to distinguish between F. squarrosa var. esquarrosa and F. aestivalis. Anyway, by assigning specific rank to var. esquarrosa (F. velata), its taxonomic value is over-estimated. According to TANAKA the chromo- some number in var. squarrosa is n = 10, in var. esquarrosa n = 12. See also KERN, 1955 and 1961.
Citation
KUNTH 1837 – In: En. p 224
CAMUS 1912: p. 101. – In: Fl. Gén. I.-C. f. 16, 3-6
BOECK. 1871 – In: Linnaea. p 10
Miq. 1856 – In: Fl. Ind. Bat. p 319
KOYAMA 1957 – In: Contr. Inst. Bot. Un. Montréal. p 44
VAHL 1909: Ill. Cyp. t. 41 f. 8-10
STEUD. 1855 – In: Syn. p 110
Clarke 1893 – In: Fl. Br. Ind. p 635