Carex obispoensis

Stacey

Leafl. W. Bot. 1: 240. 1936.

Common names: San Luis Obispo sedge
IllustratedEndemicConservation concern
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 23. Treatment on page 474. Mentioned on page 461, 462, 473, 475.

Plants densely cespitose. Culms dark-brown to chestnut at base, surrounded by remains of previous year’s leaf-bases, but not conspicuously fibrillose; flowering-stems 60–180 cm × 2–2.5 mm, much longer than leaves at maturity, glabrous. Leaves: sheaths glabrous, ivory to brown on back, dark chestnut-hyaline on front, sometimes finely red dotted near apex; blades rigid, flat distally but often keeled or channeled near base, margins revolute, 4–8 mm wide, finely retrorse-scabrous adaxially, margins and abaxial midribs also sometimes finely scabrous. Inflorescences: peduncles of lateral spikes slender, to 10 mm, finely scabrous; peduncle of terminal spike scabrous; proximal bracts shorter than inflorescences; sheaths 9–100 mm; blades 2–3.5 mm wide. Lateral spikes 6–15, 1–3 per node; proximal spikes well separated (except those at same node), erect or arching at maturity, pistillate with 15–45 perigynia attached less than 1 mm apart, cylindric, 2.5–8 × 4–6 mm; distal spikes staminate or androgynous, erect, crowded near apex, sessile or short-pedunculate. Terminal spike staminate, often crowded with other staminate or predominantly lateral staminate spikes, 20–80 × 2.5–7 mm. Pistillate scales suffused with chestnut except for hyaline margins and green midrib, ovate to oblong, shorter than mature perigynia, apex acute, sometimes with scabrous awn to 1 mm, glabrous. Perigynia green, usually red dotted, strongly 2-ribbed, 12–20-veined, loosely enveloping achene, lanceellipsoid, 5–8 × 1.4–2.7 mm, membranous, base with short stipe, apex tapering to beak, shortly and evenly pubescent; beak bidentate, margins serrulate. Achenes sessile, 3–4 × 1.4–2.2 mm.


Phenology: Fruiting spring–early summer.
Habitat: Springs or seeps in chapparal
Elevation: elevations below 600 m

Discussion

Of conservation concern.

Although Carex obispoensis is rare and endemic to San Luis Obispo County, California, this large, striking sedge has two quite extensive populations in Arroyo de la Cruz and Cuesta Ridge Botanical Area.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"shortened" is not a number.

... more about "Carex obispoensis"
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br />) +
trigonous +
1.4mm;2.2mm +
pubescent +  and glabrous +
tapering;acute +
Marcia J. Waterway +
Stacey +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br />) +
rounded +  and tapering +
Hymenochlaenae +
bidentate +
0.05 cm0.5 mm <br />5.0e-4 m <br /> (0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br />) +
channeled +  and keeled +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.35 cm3.5 mm <br />0.0035 m <br />) +
glumaceous +  and foliaceous +
2-ranked +  and arranged +
ascending +  and appressed +
scale-like +  and leaflike +
parallel +  and divergent +
terete +, rolled +  and plicate +
San Luis Obispo sedge +
dark-brown +  and chestnut +
round +  and trigonous +
fibrillose +
short-pedunculate +, sessile +  and staminate +
elevations below 600 m +
open +, pistillate +  and staminate +
hypogynous +  and subtending +
60 cm600 mm <br />0.6 m <br /> (180 cm1,800 mm <br />1.8 m <br />) +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br />) +
biconvex +  and trigonous +
Springs or seeps in chapparal +
nodding +  and erect +
multi-ranked +, 2-ranked +, 3-ranked +  and alternate +
basal +  and cauline +
scabrous +  and retrorse-scabrous +
4mm +  and 8mm +
entire +  and bidentate +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
with (1-)3-6(-30) bristles and/or scales +
red dotted +  and green +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br />) +
ascending +  and erect +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
0.14 cm1.4 mm <br />0.0014 m <br /> (0.27 cm2.7 mm <br />0.0027 m <br />) +
Fruiting spring–early summer. +
2-3(-4)-carpellate +
, +, suffused with maroon or suffused with chestnut-brown +, white +  and hyaline +
3 (?) +  and 1 (?) +
apart +  and separated +
0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br /> (0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br />) +
arching +  and erect +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
Leafl. W. Bot. +
adventitious +
chestnut +  and suffused +
basal +  and proximal +
ovate;oblong +
cylindric +
0.9 cm9 mm <br />0.009 m <br /> (10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br />) +
Illustrated +, Endemic +  and Conservation concern +
staminate +  and lateral +
1 +  and 3 +
septate +, hollow +  and solid +
compressed +, terete +  and trigonous +
papillate +
deciduous +
2-3(-4)-fid +
Carex obispoensis +
Carex sect. Hymenochlaenae +
species +
androgynous +  and gynecandrous +
0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br /> (0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br />) +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br />) +
plant +  and cespitose +
pubescent +  and glabrous +
not septate-nodulose +