Cyperus neocooperi Reynders, 2014

Don, Bel Lar Ri, Ers, Enne Th Ba Ut & Reynde, Ma Rc, 2014, Taxonomic changes in C Cyperus (Cypereae, Cyperoideae, Cyperaceae): combining the sedge genera Ascolepis, Kyllinga and Pycreus into Cyperus s. l., Phytotaxa 166 (1), pp. 33-48 : 41

Cyperus neocooperi Reynders , nom. nov.

Basionym: Pycreus cooperi C.B.Clarke in W.H.Harvey & auct. suc. (eds.), Fl. Cap. 7: 160 ( Clarke 1897) ≡ Cyperus cooperi (C.B.Clarke) Kükenthal (1934: 68) nom. illeg., non. Cyperus cooperi (C.B.Clarke) K.Schum. (1900: 328) .

Type:— SOUTH AFRICA, Orange Free State, 17 January 1861, T. Cooper 912 (holotype K!) .

Description: — Clarke (1897: 160).

Note: — Cyperus neocooperi is very similar to C. aethiops , which has smaller glumes and a more northerly, afromontane distribution. Possibly, both could even be considered as conspecific. Cyperus aethiops belongs to Cyperus section Pycreus (C. sect. Polystachyi Kük., nom. illeg.), and C. neocooperi also fits in this group based on its elongated elliptic nutlets. Kükenthal (1936) placed C. neocooperi species in the very heterogenous C. sect. Lancei based on its rather large and dark glumes. However, blackish glumes are correlated with Cyperus species growing at higher elevation and originated multiple times within the genus, also, glume size does not seem to be reliable for infrageneric classification ( Reynders 2013).