[irn: 13794]

  • Authority

    Balslev, Henrik. 1996. Juncaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 68: 1-167. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Juncaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Oxychloe

  • Type

    Type species. Oxychloe andina Philippi.

  • Synonyms

    Oxychloe, Andesia

  • Description

    Genus Description - Perennial cushion-forming, glabrous herbs. Stems more or less regularly forked, the proximal parts densely covered with persisting, wilted leaves. Leaves regularly, densely and spirally inserted along the stem; blade equal to or longer than the sheath, terete, smooth with hard-pointed prickly apex. Inflorescence reduced to a single, lateral, subapical flower, clasped by 2 scariose bracteoles, perfect or imperfect; plants with unisexual flowers dioecious, but without differentiation in long pedicellate staminate flowers and short pedicellate pistillate flowers. Staminate flowers with narrowly lanceolate tepals; stamens 6, with long, linear, mucronate anthers on short filaments. Pistillate flowers with broadly lanceolate tepals; ovary sessile, with pronounced style and 3 slightly tapering, papillose stigmas. Capsule trilocular or triseptate, sessile, dehiscing or indehiscent. Seeds many. The name Oxychloe is derived from the Greek oxys (acute) and chloe (grass), referring to the hard-pointed and prickly leaves.

  • Discussion

    Taxonomic History of Oxychloe

    Oxychloe andina was described by Philippi (1860) in his account of the flora of the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. Bentham and Hooker (1883) accepted only one genus of cushion-forming Juncaceae and included Oxychloe in Distichia as a section. Kuntze (1898) described O. bisexualis, and Hauman (1915) placed this in its own genus, Andesia, because of its perfect flowers. Barros (1950, 1953) described four new species of Oxychloe and placed Andesia in synonymy of Oxychloe.

  • Distribution

    Oxychloe includes six species distributed in the Andes from Ayacucho in Peru to Mendoza in Argentina. They all occur at high elevations and are dominant in cushion plant communities in alpine bogs and along rivers and brooks. Only one species reaches the neotropical region.

    Peru South America| Chile South America| Argentina South America| Bolivia South America|