Carex digitalis

Willdenow

Sp. Pl. 4(1): 298. 1805.

Common names: Carex digital
IllustratedEndemic
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 23. Treatment on page 445. Mentioned on page 443, 446, 447.

Plants densely cespitose. Culms erect or ascending, 7–52 cm × 0.5–1 mm. Leaves: basal sheaths white or light-brown; nonbasal sheaths green, 8–37 mm; blades green, 8–44 cm × 0.8–5 mm, shorter than or overtopping culm, 0.5–1.3 (–1.8) times as tall as tallest flowering culm; blades of vegetative shoots 1–3.5 times wider than bract blades. Inflorescences: spikes (2–) 4 per culm, scattered; peduncles of pistillate spikes 0.5–10.2 cm; of staminate spike 0.4–8.7 cm. Bracts 2.2–11.4 cm × 1–3 mm. Pistillate spikes: proximal usually basal, erect, ascending, or drooping, short to long pedunclulate, 6–18 × 4–5 mm. Staminate spike 1, linear to linear-clavate, 11–24 × (1–) 1.2–2.7 mm. Pistillate scales keeled, 1.8–2 × 1–1.2 mm, midribs green, margins hyaline, apex acute, proximal scales of lateral spikes subtending perigyinia. Staminate scales oblong, 2–3.6 (–5.5) × 1–1.5 mm, midribs green, margins hyaline, frequently brown tinged, apex acute. Anthers 2–3.3 mm. Perigynia 3–9 per spike, finely veined, obovoid, 2–4.2 × 1.2–1.8 mm; beak tapering. Achenes obovoid, 1.8–2.8 × 1–1.6 mm, sides plane or slightly concave at maturity, tightly fitting perigynia. Style slender, ascending through entire orifice.

Distribution

V23 816-distribution-map.jpg

N.S., Ont., Que., Ala., Ark., Conn., D.C., Del., Fla., Ga., Ill., Ind., Ky., La., Maine, Mass., Md., Mich., Miss., Mo., N.C., N.H., N.J., N.Y., Ohio, Okla., Pa., R.I., S.C., Tenn., Tex., Va., Vt., W.Va., Wis., temperate e North America

Discussion

Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).

Selected References

None.

Key

1 Terminal spike usually surpassing bract blade of distal lateral spike; longest peduncle of staminate spike (6.3–)8.1–15.9 cm; widest leaves 2–2.9(–3.5) mm wide; perigynia 7–10-veined. Carex digitalis var. macropoda
1 Terminal spike usually surpassed by bract blade of distal lateral spike; longest peduncle of staminate spike 0.9–7.2(–11.4) cm; widest leaves 2.7–4.5(–5.3) mm wide; perigynia (8–)11–15-veined. > 2
2 Peryginia 2.5–3.3 mm, apex barely excurved. Carex digitalis var. digitalis
2 Perigynia 3.2–4.2 mm, apex noticeably excurved. Carex digitalis var. floridana

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

... more about "Carex digitalis"
0.18 cm1.8 mm <br />0.0018 m <br /> (0.28 cm2.8 mm <br />0.0028 m <br />) +
smaller +
1mm;1.6mm +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.33 cm3.3 mm <br />0.0033 m <br />) +
acute;acute +
Charles T. Bryson +  and Robert F. C. Naczi +
Willdenow +
light-brown;white +
tapering +
tapering +
0.5-1.3(-1.8) times as tall as tallest flowering culm +
8 cm80 mm <br />0.08 m <br /> (44 cm440 mm <br />0.44 m <br />) +
m--shaped +
glumaceous +  and foliaceous +
2-ranked +  and arranged +
2.2 cm22 mm <br />0.022 m <br /> (11.4 cm114 mm <br />0.114 m <br />) +
ascending +  and appressed +
scale-like +  and leaflike +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br />) +
parallel +  and divergent +
terete +, rolled +  and plicate +
10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br /> (?) +
Carex digital +
purple +  and brown +
7 cm70 mm <br />0.07 m <br /> (52 cm520 mm <br />0.52 m <br />) +
ascending +  and erect +
round +  and trigonous +
0.5mm;1mm +
N.S. +, Ont. +, Que. +, Ala. +, Ark. +, Conn. +, D.C. +, Del. +, Fla. +, Ga. +, Ill. +, Ind. +, Ky. +, La. +, Maine +, Mass. +, Md. +, Mich. +, Miss. +, Mo. +, N.C. +, N.H. +, N.J. +, N.Y. +, Ohio +, Okla. +, Pa. +, R.I. +, S.C. +, Tenn. +, Tex. +, Va. +, Vt. +, W.Va. +, Wis. +  and temperate e North America +
hypogynous +  and subtending +
1 +  and 2 +
biconvex +  and trigonous +
prophyllate +, pedunculate +  and pistillate +
multi-ranked +, 2-ranked +, 3-ranked +  and alternate +
basal +  and cauline +
brown tinged +  and hyaline +
0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br /> (3.7 cm37 mm <br />0.037 m <br />) +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (10.2 cm102 mm <br />0.102 m <br />) +
with (1-)3-6(-30) bristles and/or scales +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.42 cm4.2 mm <br />0.0042 m <br />) +
0.12 cm1.2 mm <br />0.0012 m <br /> (0.18 cm1.8 mm <br />0.0018 m <br />) +
2-3(-4)-carpellate +
3 (?) +  and 1 (?) +
bladeless +  and leaflike +
0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br /> (1.8 cm18 mm <br />0.018 m <br />) +
drooping +, ascending +  and erect +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
adventitious +
staminate +  and pistillate +
0.36 cm3.6 mm <br />0.0036 m <br /> (0.55 cm5.5 mm <br />0.0055 m <br />) +
basal +  and proximal +
oblong;keeled +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br />) +
cylindric +
concave +  and plane +
Illustrated +  and Endemic +
staminate +  and pistillate +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.12 cm1.2 mm <br />0.0012 m <br />) +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (8.7 cm87 mm <br />0.087 m <br />) +
1.1 cm11 mm <br />0.011 m <br /> (2.4 cm24 mm <br />0.024 m <br />) +
linear;linear-clavate +
0.12 cm1.2 mm <br />0.0012 m <br /> (0.27 cm2.7 mm <br />0.0027 m <br />) +
1 +  and 3 +
septate +, hollow +  and solid +
compressed +, terete +  and trigonous +
papillate +
deciduous +
2-3(-4)-fid +
slender +
Carex digitalis +
Carex sect. Careyanae +
species +
plant +  and cespitose +