Carex oxylepis

Torrey & Hooker

Ann. Lyceum Nat. Hist. New York 3: 409. 1836.

Common names: Sharpscale sedge
IllustratedEndemic
Synonyms: Carex oxylepis var. pubescens J. K. Underwood
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 23. Treatment on page 465. Mentioned on page 463, 464.

Plants densely cespitose. Culms dark maroon at base; flowering-stems 25–80 cm, usually longer than leaves at maturity, 1–2 mm thick, glabous to pubescent. Leaves: basal sheaths maroon, bladeless, pubescent, sometimes glabrous, others grading from maroon to green on back, light brown-hyaline on front, dotted or streaked with dark red, pubescent distally; blades flat, 3–7 mm wide, pilose, especially abaxially, sparsely so distally, margins ciliate. Inflorescences: peduncles of lateral spikes slender, 5–20 mm, shorter than spikes, pubescent; peduncle of terminal spikes 5–40 mm, minutely scabrous; proximal bracts nearly equaling but usually not exceeding inflorescences; sheaths 15–25 mm; blades 1.5–3 mm wide. Lateral spikes 2–4, 1 per node, distal 2 usually overlapping terminal spike, others well separated, nodding or drooping at maturity, pistillate with 20–45 perigynia attached 1.5 mm apart, narrowly cylindric, 15–45 × 3–4.5 mm. Terminal spike gynecandrous, 15–45 × 2–4.5 mm. Pistillate scales hyaline with broad green, red dotted midrib, elliptic-ovate, shorter than mature perigynia, apex acute to aristate or awned, awn less than 1 mm, ciliate. Perigynia green to dark olive-green, copiously red dotted, 2-ribbed with 6–10 almost equally prominent veins, loosely enveloping achenes, ellipsoid-ovoid, 3.5–5 × 1.7–2 mm, membranous, base acute or with short stipe, apex gradually tapered to beak, glabrous or less often pubescent; beak minutely bidentate, 0.4–0.7 mm. Achenes distinctly stipitate, 1.7–2.5 × 1–1.5 mm, stipe to 0.7 mm.


Phenology: Fruiting late spring–early summer.
Habitat: Floodplain forests, rich, moist deciduous forests, near streams or in swampy areas, upland forests on sandy soils, wooded bluffs, often associated with calcareous soils

Distribution

V23 851-distribution-map.jpg

Ala., Ark., Fla., Ga., Ill., Ky., La., Miss., Mo., N.C., Okla., S.C., Tenn., Tex., Va.

Discussion

Plants with glabrous leaves and sheaths are occasionally found and have been treated as Carex oxylepis forma glabra Kükenthal; plants with perigynia pubescent, in addition to normally pilose leaves and sheaths, have been treated as C. oxylepis var. pubescens. Taxonomic recognition is not warranted in either case because the traits vary within populations and are not correlated with other structural differences.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"shortened" is not a number.

... more about "Carex oxylepis"
0.17 cm1.7 mm <br />0.0017 m <br /> (0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br />) +
trigonous +
1mm;1.5mm +
pubescent +  and glabrous +
tapered;acute;aristate +
Marcia J. Waterway +
Torrey & Hooker +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br />) +
glabrous +  and pubescent +
with short stipe +  and acute +
Hymenochlaenae +
bidentate +
0.04 cm0.4 mm <br />4.0e-4 m <br /> (0.07 cm0.7 mm <br />7.0e-4 m <br />) +
m--shaped +
0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 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 +
Sharpscale sedge +
dark maroon +
round +  and trigonous +
Ala. +, Ark. +, Fla. +, Ga. +, Ill. +, Ky. +, La. +, Miss. +, Mo. +, N.C. +, Okla. +, S.C. +, Tenn. +, Tex. +  and Va. +
open +, pistillate +  and staminate +
hypogynous +  and subtending +
25 cm250 mm <br />0.25 m <br /> (80 cm800 mm <br />0.8 m <br />) +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br />) +
biconvex +  and trigonous +
Floodplain forests, rich, moist deciduous forests, near streams or in swampy areas, upland forests on sandy soils, wooded bluffs, often associated with calcareous soils +
nodding +  and erect +
multi-ranked +, 2-ranked +, 3-ranked +  and alternate +
basal +  and cauline +
red dotted +  and green +
entire +  and bidentate +
apart +  and separated +
streaked with dark red +, dotted +, light brown-hyaline +, maroon +  and green +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (4.5 cm45 mm <br />0.045 m <br />) +
drooping;nodding +
cylindric +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (?) +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.45 cm4.5 mm <br />0.0045 m <br />) +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br />) +
with (1-)3-6(-30) bristles and/or scales +
stipitate +, veinless +  and veined +
red dotted +, green +  and dark olive-green +
0.35 cm3.5 mm <br />0.0035 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
ascending +  and erect +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
0.17 cm1.7 mm <br />0.0017 m <br /> (0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br />) +
Fruiting late spring–early summer. +
2-3(-4)-carpellate +
, +, suffused with maroon or suffused with chestnut-brown +, white +  and hyaline +
3 (?) +  and 1 (?) +
Ann. Lyceum Nat. Hist. New York +
adventitious +
basal +  and proximal +
elliptic-ovate +
cylindric +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br />) +
Illustrated +  and Endemic +
1 +  and 3 +
septate +, hollow +  and solid +
compressed +, terete +  and trigonous +
papillate +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (?) +  and 0.07 cm0.7 mm <br />7.0e-4 m <br /> (?) +
deciduous +
2-3(-4)-fid +
Carex oxylepis var. pubescens +
Carex oxylepis +
Carex sect. Hymenochlaenae +
species +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.45 cm4.5 mm <br />0.0045 m <br />) +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br />) +
6 (?) +  and 10 (?) +
plant +  and cespitose +
pubescent +  and glabrous +
not septate-nodulose +