Carex senta
Ill. Carex, 174. 1867.
Plants not cespitose. Culms acutely angled, 50–100 cm, scabrous. Leaves: basal sheaths redbrown; sheaths of proximal leaves scabrous, fronts with redbrown spots, prominently ladder-fibrillose, apex U-shaped; blades 4–8 mm wide. Inflorescences: proximal bract shorter than inflorescence, 3–5 mm wide. Spikes erect; staminate 2–3; pistillate 2–4; proximal pistillate spike 3–7 cm × 3–5 mm, base cuneate. Pistillate scales dark redbrown to black, shorter than perigynia, apex obtuse, awnless. Perigynia ascending, pale-brown with redbrown spots on apical 1/2, 3–7-veined on each face, somewhat flattened, loosely enclosing achenes, thick-walled, ellipsoid or ovoid, 3–3.5 × 2–2.2 mm, somewhat leathery, dull, often scabrous on apical margins, apex obtuse, papillose; beak pale-brown or redbrown, 0.2–0.3 mm. Achenes not constricted, dull.
Phenology: Fruiting Jun.
Habitat: Wet meadows along streams or rivers
Elevation: 0–3000 m
Distribution
Ariz., Calif., Mexico
Discussion
Carex senta is a member of the C. stricta group and is most similar to C. angustata. These two species, which may be sympatric, can be distinguished by C. senta, which lacks prominent bladeless sheaths, larger leathery perigynia with 3–7 veins on each face, and larger achenes. Carex senta is distinguished from C. nudata by the flowering from second-year stems, by the wider inflorescence bract, the broader ellipsoid perigynia, and the red-brown (rather than black) scales. Variation within the species, as well as its relationships with other members of the C. stricta subgroup, merit investigation. Specimens of C. senta from Santa Cruz Island have obovoid, apically rounded perigynia with a 0.1 mm beak, and specimens from Arizona have papery perigynia. Collections from New Mexico identified as C. senta are C. stricta.
Selected References
None.
Lower Taxa
"shortened" is not a number.