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Published In: The Carices of the Northern United States (From New England to Pennsylvania and Wisconsin), contributed to Gray's Manual of the botany of the Northern United States 564. 1847. (Oct 1847) (Carices North. U.S.) Name publication detail
 

Project Name Data (Last Modified On 9/1/2009)
Acceptance : Accepted
 

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31. Section Vesicariae (Tuck.) J. Carey

Plants monoecious, with rhizomes poorly developed and short-creeping or well developed and long-creeping, forming dense clumps or loose colonies, the sheaths of previous season’s basal leaves usually persisting and noticeable. Vegetative stems well developed, with several leaves. Flowering stems erect or ascending, glabrous, but often somewhat roughened on the angles near the tip. Leaves basal and along the stems, glabrous. Leaf blades with the margins often minutely roughened or toothed near the tip, flat or somewhat corrugated in cross-section, the margins sometimes slightly curled under. Leaf sheaths with the ventral side thin (except sometimes in C. vesicaria) and white to yellowish tinged, truncate or concave at the tip. Inflorescences with 2–9 loosely spaced spikes, the uppermost 1–4(–6) spikes staminate or mostly so, the pistillate spikes 1–6. Staminate spikes linear in outline, sessile to short-stalked, erect or ascending. Pistillate spikes short- to long-stalked, erect to ascending or nodding or drooping, with numerous perigynia, the bracts leaflike, the lowermost bracts longer than the inflorescence. Perigynia 4–9 mm long, more or less inflated, circular to bluntly trigonous in cross-section, tapered to a conical beak with 2 narrow, stiff, spreading to ascending teeth at the tip, the base rounded or more or less angled, the surface with 7–20 strong nerves, glabrous, shiny. Styles persistent, straight or contorted (abruptly bent, curved, or looped) in the lower half, not jointed to the main body of the fruit, which is long-beaked at maturity. Stigmas 3. Fruits strongly trigonous in cross-section with flat to concave sides, the angles blunt or thickened, yellow to brown. About 45 species, North America to South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, south to Australia.

 

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1 Perigynia mostly reflexed at maturity, little-inflated and bluntly trigonous in cross-section, leathery, the beak with teeth 1.2–2.2 mm long 119 Carex comosa
+ Perigynia ascending to spreading at maturity, not reflexed, inflated and circular or nearly so in cross-section, papery, the beak with teeth 0.3–1.2 mm long (2)
2 (1) Plants with long-creeping, branched rhizomes, forming loose colonies; staminate scales tapered to a sharply pointed tip, not or very short-awned, the margins not roughened or toothed; pistillate spikes somewhat tapered at the base 122 Carex schweinitzia
+ Plants with short-creeping rhizomes, forming dense to loose clumps; staminate scales tapered to a noticeable awn with roughened or toothed margins; pistillate spikes rounded at both ends (3)
3 (2) Pistillate scales tapered to a sharply pointed tip, not or very short-awned, the margins not roughened or toothed; staminate spikes 2–4(–6) per inflorescence, the lowermost one rarely with a few perigynia toward the base 123 Carex vesicaria
+ Pistillate scales tapered to an awn mostly longer than the main body with roughened or toothed margins; staminate spike 1 per inflorescence (4)
4 (3) Perigynia 1.5–2.0 mm wide at maturity, with 12–20 nerves 120 Carex hystericina
+ Perigynia 2–4 mm wide at maturity, with 7–12 nerves 121 Carex lurida
 
 
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