Carex pseudocyperus

Linnaeus

Sp. Pl. 2: 978. 1753.

Common names: Carex faux-souchet
Illustrated
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 23. Treatment on page 510. Mentioned on page 502, 508, 511.

Plants densely to loosely cespitose; rhizomes short, no more than 10 cm. Culms trigonous in cross-section, 25–100 cm, scabrous distally. Leaves: basal sheaths pale-brown (rarely faintly red tinged); ligules usually much longer than wide; blades mid to dark green, flat to W-shaped, 4–13 mm wide, glabrous. Inflorescences 4–15 cm; proximal bract 12–55 cm, greatly exceeding inflorescence; proximal 2–5 spikes pistillate, erect or the proximal pendent, cylindric, 9–12 mm thick; terminal 1 spike staminate or, rarely, gynaecandrous, androgynous, or mixed. Pistillate scales lanceolate-acuminate, 2.5–8.6 × 0.3–0.6 mm, the distal shorter and the proximal longer than perigynia, margins ciliate, apex scabrous-awned. Staminate scales scabrous-awned, sometimes also ciliate-margined. Perigynia spreading to reflexed at maturity, strongly 12–20-veined, veins usually separated by less than 2 times their width, confluent at or proximal to mid beak (except for 2 prominent lateral), tightly investing achene, narrowly elliptic to lanceolate, 3.4–6.1 × 1–1.7 mm, leathery, apex gradually tapered; beak poorly defined, 1.2–2.2 mm, strongly bidentate, teeth straight or slightly outcurved, 0.7–1.2 (–1.4) mm. Stigmas 3. Achenes pale-brown, trigonous, smooth. 2n = 66.


Phenology: Fruiting Jun–Aug.
Habitat: Swamps, wet thickets, stream, pond, and lakeshores, depressions in wet meadows, marshes, often in shallow water or on emergent stumps, floating logs, floating mats of vegetation in water
Elevation: 0–800 m

Distribution

V23 951-distribution-map.jpg

Man., N.B., N.S., Ont., Que., Conn., Maine, Mass., Mich., Minn., N.Y., Ohio, Pa., Vt., Wis., Eurasia

Discussion

Carex pseudocyperus is a smaller and more slender plant than C. comosa, but otherwise very similar. The two species often grow together where their ranges overlap and rarely produce sterile hybrids. Hybrids with C. hystericina are more frequent, and resemble C. pseudo- cyperus except for their sterility, the slightly more inflated and less reflexed perigynia, and the substantial red tinging on the basal sheaths.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"shortened" is not a number.

... more about "Carex pseudocyperus"
trigonous +
awned +  and awnless +
not papillose +
tapered +
A. A. Reznicek +  and Bruce A. Ford +
Linnaeus +
not +  and fibrous +
truncate +  and rounded +
Vesicariae +
bidentate +
0.12 cm1.2 mm <br />0.0012 m <br /> (0.22 cm2.2 mm <br />0.0022 m <br />) +
flat +  and w-shaped +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (1.3 cm13 mm <br />0.013 m <br />) +
glumaceous +  and foliaceous +
2-ranked +  and arranged +
ascending +  and appressed +
scale-like +  and leaflike +
parallel +  and divergent +
terete +, rolled +  and plicate +
Carex faux-souchet +
brown +, reddish-brown +  and reddish purple +
trigonous +
25 cm250 mm <br />0.25 m <br /> (100 cm1,000 mm <br />1 m <br />) +
Man. +, N.B. +, N.S. +, Ont. +, Que. +, Conn. +, Maine +, Mass. +, Mich. +, Minn. +, N.Y. +, Ohio +, Pa. +, Vt. +, Wis. +  and Eurasia +
0–800 m +
open +, pistillate +  and staminate +
hypogynous +  and subtending +
biconvex +  and trigonous +
Swamps, wet thickets, stream, pond, and lakeshores, depressions in wet meadows, marshes, often in shallow water or on emergent stumps, floating logs, floating mats of vegetation in water +
4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br /> (15 cm150 mm <br />0.15 m <br />) +
prophyllate +, pedunculate +  and pistillate +
multi-ranked +, 2-ranked +, 3-ranked +  and alternate +
basal +  and cauline +
usually much longer than wide +
with (1-)3-6(-30) bristles and/or scales +
stipitate +  and 0-25-veined +
0.34 cm3.4 mm <br />0.0034 m <br /> (0.61 cm6.1 mm <br />0.0061 m <br />) +
spreading +  and reflexed +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br />) +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.17 cm1.7 mm <br />0.0017 m <br />) +
Fruiting Jun–Aug. +
2-3(-4)-carpellate +
3 (?) +  and 1 (?) +
short-sheathed +, sheathless +  and leaflike +
12 cm120 mm <br />0.12 m <br /> (55 cm550 mm <br />0.55 m <br />) +
0.9 cm9 mm <br />0.009 m <br /> (1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br />) +
adventitious +
ciliate-margined +, staminate +  and pistillate +
green +  and dark-brown +
basal +  and proximal +
lanceolate-acuminate +
0.03 cm0.3 mm <br />3.0e-4 m <br /> (0.06 cm0.6 mm <br />6.0e-4 m <br />) +
septate-nodulose +
Illustrated +
gynaecandrous +, , +, staminate +  and pistillate +
1 +  and 3 +
septate +, hollow +  and solid +
compressed +, terete +  and trigonous +
papillate +
persistent +
2-3(-4)-fid +
Carex pseudocyperus +
Carex sect. Vesicariae +
species +
0.12 cm1.2 mm <br />0.0012 m <br /> (0.14 cm1.4 mm <br />0.0014 m <br />) +
straight +
outcurved +
0.07 cm0.7 mm <br />7.0e-4 m <br /> (0.12 cm1.2 mm <br />0.0012 m <br />) +
12-20-veined +
plant +  and cespitose +