46. Carex gracilescens Steud.
Pl. 42 m–p; Map 162
Vegetative stems shorter
than the flowering stems but at least 2–5 cm long, the leaves 1–6 mm wide,
slightly wider than those of the flowering stems, green to dark green.
Flowering stems 15–60(80) cm long, dark reddish purple at the base. Leaf blades 1–20 cm long, 1–5 mm wide. Lowermost, nearly
bladeless sheaths dark reddish purple. Spikes 3–5 per stem, the bracts leaflike, the uppermost mostly
shorter than the inflorescence. Staminate spike 6–25 mm long,
sessile or more commonly long-stalked, only rarely hidden by the uppermost pistillate spikes and bracts. Pistillate
spikes 5–30 mm long, 3–4 mm wide, the uppermost sometimes nearly sessile, the
others loosely spaced along the upper half of the inflorescence, mostly
long-stalked, ascending to drooping, with 4–18 perigynia.
Scales of the staminate spikes 3.5–4.0 mm long, ovate to lanceolate, pointed at the tip, dull purple to brownish
purple or brown, with a green midrib. Pistillate
scales 2.8–3.0 mm long, oblong-elliptic, rounded to bluntly pointed at the tip,
the midrib extended as a short to long awn, yellowish white to white, with a
green midrib, the margins sometimes tinged with purple. Perigynia
2.2–3.0 mm long, obovate to elliptic in outline, the
short beak abruptly bent. Fruits 2.6–2.8 mm long, obovate
to elliptic in outline. 2n=40. April–June.
Scattered,
mostly south of the Missouri River (eastern U.S.
and adjacent Canada west to Wisconsin, Nebraska, and
Oklahoma).
Mesic to
dry upland forests, on calcareous substrates.
For a discussion of
difficulties in separating this species from C. blanda,
see the treatment of that species.