Carex scirpoidea

Michaux

Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 171. 1803.

Illustrated
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 23. Treatment on page 551. Mentioned on page 550, 552.

Plants usually cespitose, short to long rhizomatous. Culms erect or lax, 5–35 (–40) cm. Leaves: sheaths and bases from previous year’s leaves usually absent; ligules rounded or acute; blades glabrous adaxially. Inflorescences unispicate (very rarely with short, sessile lateral spike of same sex), mostly erect, ellipsoid; primary inflorescence bracts leaflike, rarely scalelike, shorter or longer than inflorescences. Scales redbrown to purple, ovate to lanceolate, to 3.5 × 1.5 mm, shorter than, equal to, or longer than perigynia, margins hyaline, narrow to broad, central midrib extending midway or to scale apex, apex acute to obtuse. Perigynia redbrown, ovate to lanceolate, to 4 × 1.6 mm, as wide as subtending scale, apex tapering or rounded, distal 3/4 hirsute with white hairs; beak 0.1 mm, orifice circular; rachilla absent. Achenes 1–2 × 0.6–1.2, tightly enveloped by perigynia, occupying full width and at least 3/4 length of perigynia. 2n = 62.

Distribution

V23 1043-distribution-map.jpg

Alta., B.C., Man., N.B., N.S., N.W.T., Ont., Que., Sask., Yukon, Alaska, Calif., Colo., Idaho, Maine, Mich., Minn., Mont., N.Dak., N.H., N.Y., Nev., Oreg., Utah, Vt., Wash., Wyo., Europe, Asia

Discussion

Subspecies 4 (4 in the flora).

Subspecies of Carex scirpoidea grow in a variety of habitats in northern North America. Taxa previously recognized as varieties or separate species are treated here as subspecies of C. scirpoidea. Within the C. scirpoidea complex, all subspecies have the same chromosome number, possess similar achene micromorphology and leaf anatomy, interbreed in greenhouse experiments, and have morphologic characteristics that mostly fall within the normal range for C. scirpoidea.

Selected References

None.

Key

1 Plants not cespitose; rhizomes long; sheaths and bases of previous year’s leaves persistent. Carex scirpoidea subsp. pseudoscirpoidea
1 Plants cespitose; rhizomes short or inconspicuous; sheaths or bases of previous year’s leaves absent. > 2
2 Perigynia lanceolate, more than 2.5 times as long as wide; culms lax. Carex scirpoidea subsp. stenochlaena
2 Perigynia ovate, less than or equal to 2.5 times as long as wide; culms erect. > 3
3 Widest leaves of pistillate culm more than 1.5 mm wide, widely V-shaped in cross section; North America, Europe, Asia. Carex scirpoidea subsp. scirpoidea
3 Widest leaves of pistillate culm less than 1.5 mm wide, narrowly V-shaped in cross section; North America (restricted to shores near Lake Huron). Carex scirpoidea subsp. convoluta

"shortened" is not a number.No values specified.

... more about "Carex scirpoidea"
trigonous +
smaller +
rounded;tapering;acute;obtuse +
Debra A. Dunlop +
Michaux +
not +  and fibrous +
rounded +  and tapering +
Scirpinae +
bidentate +  and emarginate +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (?) +
v--shaped +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br />) +
prophyllate +  and sheathless +
2-ranked +  and arranged +
ascending +  and appressed +
filiform +
parallel +  and divergent +
terete +, rolled +  and plicate +
to scale apex +  and midway +
puberulent +  and glabrous +
round +  and trigonous +
5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br /> (35 cm350 mm <br />0.35 m <br />) +
Alta. +, B.C. +, Man. +, N.B. +, N.S. +, N.W.T. +, Ont. +, Que. +, Sask. +, Yukon +, Alaska +, Calif. +, Colo. +, Idaho +, Maine +, Mich. +, Minn. +, Mont. +, N.Dak. +, N.H. +, N.Y. +, Nev. +, Oreg. +, Utah +, Vt. +, Wash. +, Wyo. +, Europe +  and Asia +
open +, pistillate +  and staminate +
hypogynous +  and subtending +
biconvex +  and trigonous +
multi-ranked +, 2-ranked +, 3-ranked +  and alternate +
basal +  and cauline +
acute +  and rounded +
narrow +  and broad +
with (1-)3-6(-30) bristles and/or scales +
stipitate +, veined +  and veinless +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.16 cm1.6 mm <br />0.0016 m <br />) +
2-3(-4)-carpellate +
3 (?) +  and 1 (?) +
Fl. Bor.-Amer. +
adventitious +
redbrown +  and purple +
basal +  and proximal +
ovate;lanceolate +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br />) +
persistent +
cylindric +
Illustrated +
pistillate +  and staminate +
1 +  and 3 +
septate +, hollow +  and solid +
compressed +, terete +  and trigonous +
papillate +
deciduous +
2-3(-4)-fid +
Undefined sect. Scirpoideae +  and Undefined sect. Trysanolepis +
Carex scirpoidea +
Carex sect. Scirpinae +
species +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.08 cm0.8 mm <br />8.0e-4 m <br />) +
plant +  and cespitose +