Carex formosa

Dewey

Amer. J. Sci. Arts 8: 98. 1824.

Common names: Handsome sedge carex joli
IllustratedEndemic
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 23. Treatment on page 465. Mentioned on page 463, 464.

Plants densely cespitose. Culms dark maroon at base; flowering-stems 0.5–1 mm thick, 30–80 cm, longer than leaves at maturity, glabrous but scabrous on angles within inflorescence. Leaves: basal sheaths maroon, bladeless, pubescent, sometimes glabrous, others grading from marooon to green on back, white-hyaline, red dotted, and pilose on front; blades flat, 3–7 mm wide, glabrous on adaxial surface, pilose on abaxial surface and margins. Inflorescences:; peduncles of lateral spikes slender, to 10 cm, usually much longer than spikes, pubescent; of terminal spikes 25–50 mm, pubescent; proximal bracts nearly equaling but usually not exceeding inflorescences; sheaths 35–85 mm; blades 2.5–4.5 mm wide. Lateral spikes 2–4, 1 per node, well separated, drooping at maturity, pistillate except for 1 or 2 basal staminate flowers in each, with 8–25 perigynia per spike attached 1 mm apart, cylindric, 15–25 × 4–6 mm. Terminal spike gynecandrous, 15–30 × 5–6 mm in distal pistillate portion, 1.5–2 mm wide in proximal staminate portion. Pistillate scales pale hyaline tinged with chestnut-brown, broad green midrib red dotted, ovate, shorter than mature perigynia, apex acute to cuspidate, awn less than 1 mm, glabrous. Perigynia green, copiously red dotted, 2-ribbed with 7–12 fine veins on each face, loosely enveloping achene, ovoid-ellipsoid, 3.5–5 × 1.7–2 mm, membranous, base with short stipe, apex narrowing to abrupt beak, glabrous; beak minutely bidentate, less than 0.5 mm. Achenes substipitate, 2–2.5 × 1.4–1.5 mm.


Phenology: Fruiting early–mid summer.
Habitat: Mesic to dry deciduous forests and ravines, moist meadows, usually associated with calcareous soils

Distribution

V23 852-distribution-map.jpg

Ont., Que., Conn., Ill., Iowa, Mass., Mich., Minn., N.Y., N.Dak., Ohio, Vt., Wis.

Discussion

Carex formosa appears to be confined to areas with calcareous soils making it uncommon and sparsely distributed throughout its range, although some populations are quite large.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"shortened" is not a number."fine" is not a number.

... more about "Carex formosa"
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br />) +
trigonous +
1.4mm;1.5mm +
acute;cuspidate +
narrowing +
Marcia J. Waterway +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br />) +
glabrous +  and pubescent +
rounded +  and tapering +
Hymenochlaenae +
bidentate +  and abrupt +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.05 cm0.5 mm <br />5.0e-4 m <br />) +
pilose +  and glabrous +
m--shaped +
0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br /> (0.45 cm4.5 mm <br />0.0045 m <br />) +
glumaceous +  and foliaceous +
2-ranked +  and arranged +
ascending +  and appressed +
scale-like +  and leaflike +
parallel +  and divergent +
terete +, rolled +  and plicate +
Handsome sedge +  and carex joli +
dark maroon +
round +  and trigonous +
0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br /> (0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br />) +
Ont. +, Que. +, Conn. +, Ill. +, Iowa +, Mass. +, Mich. +, Minn. +, N.Y. +, N.Dak. +, Ohio +, Vt. +  and Wis. +
hypogynous +  and subtending +
30 cm300 mm <br />0.3 m <br /> (80 cm800 mm <br />0.8 m <br />) +
0.05 cm0.5 mm <br />5.0e-4 m <br /> (0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br />) +
biconvex +  and trigonous +
Mesic to dry deciduous forests and ravines, moist meadows, usually associated with calcareous soils +
apart +  and separated +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br />) +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (?) +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
multi-ranked +, 2-ranked +, 3-ranked +  and alternate +
basal +  and cauline +
red dotted +  and green +
entire +  and bidentate +
red dotted +  and white-hyaline +
usually much longer +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br />) +
with (1-)3-6(-30) bristles and/or scales +
stipitate +, veinless +  and veined +
red dotted +  and green +
0.35 cm3.5 mm <br />0.0035 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
ascending +  and erect +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
0.17 cm1.7 mm <br />0.0017 m <br /> (0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br />) +
Fruiting early–mid summer. +
2-3(-4)-carpellate +
, +, suffused with maroon or suffused with chestnut-brown +, white +  and hyaline +
3 (?) +  and 1 (?) +
Amer. J. Sci. Arts +
adventitious +
tinged with chestnut-brown +  and pale hyaline +
basal +  and proximal +
2-keeled +
cylindric +
3.5 cm35 mm <br />0.035 m <br /> (8.5 cm85 mm <br />0.085 m <br />) +
Illustrated +  and Endemic +
2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br /> (5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br />) +
1 +  and 3 +
septate +, hollow +  and solid +
compressed +, terete +  and trigonous +
papillate +
deciduous +
2-3(-4)-fid +
Carex formosa +
Carex sect. Hymenochlaenae +
species +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br />) +
7 (?) +  and 12 (?) +
plant +  and cespitose +
pubescent +  and glabrous +
not septate-nodulose +