Scirpus glaucus Lam., Tabl. Encycl. 1: 142. 1791; Browning & al. in Brittonia 47: fig. 1, I-L. 1995.

Perennial, 20-30 cm. Rhizome creeping or with stolons ending with tubers, c. 7 mm diam. Stem 1-1.5 cm diam., sharply trigonous, even narrowly winged above, smooth or slightly scabrous, gryish green. Leaves as long as stem or longer; sheaths up to 10 cm, yellowish brown, soft, margin almost straight; blades to 25 cm long, 1-2.5 mm wide, flat, folded or recurved, keeled, grey green, smooth. Inflorescence up to 25 mm long, small multiple spike of 1-4 spikes; lateral spikes each with peduncles to 12 mm long; lowest bract longer than inflorescence. Spikes 6-12 x 4-6 mm, ovoid or globular, brown; tubular prophyll up to 5 mm, white, scarious; glumes 4-6 x 2-2.5 mm, cymbiform, more or less hairy, brown, sides nerveless, widely scarious, apex truncate, trifid, eroded, scarious, arista to 1,5 mm, straight to slightly recurved. Perianth bristles 4-6, c. half of the nut, persistent; stigmas 3. Nut 2.5-3 x 1.4-1.7 mm, obovoid, planoconvex, trigonous with rounded dorsal edge, brown to dark brown, apex conical, surface finely reticulate, glossy, epidermal cells small.

Fl. Per.: (Febr.-) Sept.(-Oct.).

Holotype: Senegal, Roussillon s.n., Herb. Lamarck 673/14 (P).

In "Scirpus-community" of shallow waters in brooks, rivers and lakes, also artificial depressions; Distribution: From Senegal and S. Africa to Pakistan; introduced to N. America.

Oteng-Yeboah (Notes Roy. Bot Garden Edinburgh 33: 311-316, 1974) drew attention to the importance of the shape and anatomy of the fruit in infrageneric classifiaction of Bolboschoenus. His observations were extended to species represented in the area of the flora of southern Africa by Browning and Gordon-Gray (S. African J. Bot. 59: 311-318, 1993) and later to Pakistan (Browning, Gordon-Gray and Smith, l.c., 1995). In Flora Iranica B. maritimus (L.) Palla was considered to be present in Pakistan. Anatomical study of all fruiting specimens showed, however, the epicarp cells of nut to be isodiametric and not radially elongated as in NW European B. maritimus (Smith & Kukkonen, Taxon 48: 355-357, 1999). As the presence of B. maritimus in Pakistan could not be proven, it was consequently decided to assign all Pakistan material to B. glaucus. The identity of the plants, B. glaucus, used for plate 87 given by Hooper in Fl. Iraq 8: 377 (1985, as B. maritimus) is kindly confirmed by Dr. Jane Browning.