Carex davisii

Schweinitz & Torrey

Ann. Lyceum Nat. Hist. New York 1: 326. 1825.

Common names: Davis’ sedge
IllustratedEndemic
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 23. Treatment on page 464. Mentioned on page 463, 465, 542.

Plants densely cespitose. Culms dark maroon at base; flowering-stems 30–100 cm, as long as leaves at maturity or a little shorter, 1.5–3 mm thick, glabrous or pubescent on angles. Leaves: basal sheaths maroon, bladeless, sheaths pubescent or rarely glabrous; others grading from maroon to green on back, light brown-hyaline on front, red dotted and usually pubescent distally, prolonged at apex; blades flat, 3–8 mm wide, usually pubescent on abaxial surface at least near sheath, minutely scabrous on margins. Inflorescences: peduncles of proximal spikes slender, 10–25 mm, pubescent; peduncle of terminal spike 10–30 mm, pubescent; proximal bracts equaling or often exceeding inflorescences; sheaths 15–45 mm; blades 2–6 mm wide. Lateral spikes 2–4, 1 per node, well separated or distal 2 usually overlapping terminal spike, mostly erect when young but at least proximal spikes nodding at maturity, pistillate with 10–40 perigynia attached 1 mm apart distally and to 4 mm apart proximally, cylindric, 10–50 × 3.5–6 mm. Terminal spike gynecandrous, sessile or pedunculate, 15–35 × 2–6 mm. Pistillate scales pale hyaline with broad green midrib, elliptic or ovatelanceolate, body shorter than mature perigynia but extending into pubescent green awn 2.5–3 mm, often short-ciliate near apex. Perigynia green to olive-green, often red dotted, 2-ribbed with 9–12 almost equally prominent, evenly spaced veins extending from base to apex, slightly inflated around achene, ellipsoid-ovoid, 4.5–6 × 2–2.5 mm, membranous, base rounded, apex narrowing abruptly to minute beak, glabrous; beak bidentate, less than 0.5 mm. Achenes distinctly stipitate, 2.2–2.7 × 1–1.2 mm, stipe 1 mm.


Phenology: Fruiting late spring–mid summer.
Habitat: Floodplain forests, rich deciduous forests and forest margins, usually along streams or in ditches, wooded ravine slopes, meadows, fields and thickets, often associated with calcareous soils

Distribution

V23 850-distribution-map.jpg

Ont., Ark., Conn., Del., Ill., Ind., Iowa, Kans., Ky., Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., Mo., Nebr., N.J., N.Y., Ohio, Okla., Pa., Tenn., Tex., Vt., W.Va., Wis.

Discussion

Glabrous forms are sporadic in the western part of the range and were recognized as Carex davisii forma glabrescens by G. Kükenthal (1909) but do not warrant taxonomic recognition. A single collection of a putative sterile hybrid between C. davisii and C. hirsutella has been reported from Missouri (G. Yatskievych 1999+) but needs further study to confirm the parentage.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"shortened" is not a number."prolonged" is not a number.

... more about "Carex davisii"
0.22 cm2.2 mm <br />0.0022 m <br /> (0.27 cm2.7 mm <br />0.0027 m <br />) +
trigonous +
1mm;1.2mm +
pubescent +  and glabrous +
0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br /> (0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br />) +
thick;thick;thick +
tapering;obtuse;acuminate or awned +
narrowing +
Marcia J. Waterway +
Schweinitz & Torrey +
pubescent +
rounded +
Hymenochlaenae +
bidentate +
minute +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.05 cm0.5 mm <br />5.0e-4 m <br />) +
m--shaped +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br /> (0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br />) +
glumaceous +  and foliaceous +
2-ranked +  and arranged +
ascending +  and appressed +
scale-like +  and leaflike +
parallel +  and divergent +
terete +, rolled +  and plicate +
Davis’ sedge +
dark maroon +
round +  and trigonous +
Ont. +, Ark. +, Conn. +, Del. +, Ill. +, Ind. +, Iowa +, Kans. +, Ky. +, Md. +, Mass. +, Mich. +, Minn. +, Mo. +, Nebr. +, N.J. +, N.Y. +, Ohio +, Okla. +, Pa. +, Tenn. +, Tex. +, Vt. +, W.Va. +  and Wis. +
open +, pistillate +  and staminate +
hypogynous +  and subtending +
30 cm300 mm <br />0.3 m <br /> (100 cm1,000 mm <br />1 m <br />) +
biconvex +  and trigonous +
Floodplain forests, rich deciduous forests and forest margins, usually along streams or in ditches, wooded ravine slopes, meadows, fields and thickets, often associated with calcareous soils +
multi-ranked +, 2-ranked +, 3-ranked +  and alternate +
basal +  and cauline +
entire +  and bidentate +
red dotted +, light brown-hyaline +, maroon +  and green +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br />) +
with (1-)3-6(-30) bristles and/or scales +
stipitate +, veinless +  and veined +
red dotted +, green +  and olive-green +
0.45 cm4.5 mm <br />0.0045 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
ascending +  and erect +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br />) +
Fruiting late spring–mid summer. +
2-3(-4)-carpellate +
, +, suffused with maroon or suffused with chestnut-brown +, white +  and hyaline +
3 (?) +  and 1 (?) +
often exceeding inflorescences +  and equaling +
Ann. Lyceum Nat. Hist. New York +
adventitious +
pale hyaline +
basal +  and proximal +
ovatelanceolate;elliptic +
glabrous +  and pubescent +
cylindric +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (4.5 cm45 mm <br />0.045 m <br />) +
Illustrated +  and Endemic +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br />) +
cylindric +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br />) +
0.35 cm3.5 mm <br />0.0035 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
1 +  and 3 +
septate +, hollow +  and solid +
compressed +, terete +  and trigonous +
papillate +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (?) +
deciduous +
2-3(-4)-fid +
Carex davisii +
Carex sect. Hymenochlaenae +
species +
pedunculate +  and sessile +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br />) +
9 (?) +  and 12 (?) +
plant +  and cespitose +
pubescent +  and glabrous +
not septate-nodulose +