Carex specifica

L. H. Bailey

Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 1: 21. 1889.

IllustratedEndemic
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 23. Treatment on page 358. Mentioned on page 343, 357, 359, 361, 378.

Plants densely cespitose. Culms 50–85 cm. Leaves: sheaths often green-veined, white-hyaline at least 10 mm below summit, ± firm, summits U-shaped or rounded, prolonged to 4 mm beyond collar; distal ligules 1–4 mm; blades 3–6 per fertile culm, flat or folded, 14–50 cm × (2.3–) 3–5 mm. Inflorescences usually dense, greenish or gold, usually oblong, 1.9–5 cm × 12–19 mm; proximal internode 2.5–5 (–7) mm; 2d internode 2–5.5 mm; proximal bracts scalelike or bristlelike, shorter than inflorescences. Spikes 5–14, aggregated or proximal 1 more distant, narrowly to broadly ovoid, 9–18 × 6–9 (–11) mm, base rounded to attenuate, apex truncate to tapered. Pistillate scales green to gold or redbrown, with pale midstripe, lanceolate to ovate, (3.9–) 4.3–5.2 mm, shorter than or ± equaling and narrower than perigynia, margin white, 0–0.5 mm wide, apex acute to acuminate. Perigynia appressed to ascending, green to straw colored, conspicuously usually 10–18-veined abaxially, conspicuously 4–10-veined adaxially, at least 3 adaxial veins longer than achene, lanceolate to ovate, planoconvex, 4.9–6.3 (–7) × 1.5–1.8 (–2) mm, 0.5–0.7 mm thick, margin flat, including wing 0.25–0.4 mm wide, ciliate-serrulate at least on distal body; beak gold to redbrown at tip, flat, ± ciliate-serrulate, abaxial suture inconspicuous, distance from beak tip to achene 2.7–4.2 mm. Achenes elliptic to obovate, 1.6–2 (–2.3) × 1–1.5 mm, 0.4–0.5 (–0.6) mm thick.


Phenology: Fruiting summer.
Habitat: Dry soils in meadows, open forests
Elevation: 1200–3500 m

Discussion

Perigynia of Carex specifica are sometimes narrowly lanceolate, resembling those of C. petasata in shape, but perigynia of C. specifica are consistently smaller and have smaller achenes.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"shortened" is not a number."narrower" is not a number."+timesaslongasinflorescences" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property."not undefined" is not a number.

... more about "Carex specifica"
elliptic;obovate +
smaller +
0.4mm +  and 0.5mm +
planoconvex;lanceolate;ovate +
0.05 cm0.5 mm <br />5.0e-4 m <br /> (0.07 cm0.7 mm <br />7.0e-4 m <br />) +
bidentatate +
papillose +
acute;acuminate +
Joy Mastrogiuseppe +, Paul E. Rothrock +, A. C. Dibble +  and A. A. Reznicek +
L. H. Bailey +
persistent +
rounded +  and attenuate +
not enlarged +
ciliate-serrulate +
0.23 cm2.3 mm <br />0.0023 m <br /> (0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br />) +
14 cm140 mm <br />0.14 m <br /> (50 cm500 mm <br />0.5 m <br />) +
3 +  and 6 +
folded +  and flat +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
glumaceous +  and foliaceous +
2-ranked +  and arranged +
ascending +  and appressed +
scale-like +  and leaflike +
parallel +  and divergent +
terete +, rolled +  and plicate +
round +  and trigonous +
50 cm500 mm <br />0.5 m <br /> (85 cm850 mm <br />0.85 m <br />) +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br />) +
Calif. +  and Nev. +
1200–3500 m +
open +, pistillate +  and staminate +
hypogynous +  and subtending +
biconvex +  and trigonous +
Dry soils in meadows, open forests +
gold +  and greenish +
1.9 cm19 mm <br />0.019 m <br /> (5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br />) +
1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br /> (1.9 cm19 mm <br />0.019 m <br />) +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.55 cm5.5 mm <br />0.0055 m <br />) +
not prophyllate +, sessile +  and pistillate +
multi-ranked +, 2-ranked +, 3-ranked +  and alternate +
basal +  and cauline +
0.25mm +  and 0.4mm +
with (1-)3-6(-30) bristles and/or scales +
4-10-veined +  and 10-18-veined +
green +  and straw colored +
appressed +  and ascending +
Fruiting summer. +
2-3(-4)-carpellate +
3 (?) +  and 1 (?) +
0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
0.9 cm9 mm <br />0.009 m <br /> (1.1 cm11 mm <br />0.011 m <br />) +
0.9 cm9 mm <br />0.009 m <br /> (1.8 cm18 mm <br />0.018 m <br />) +
0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br /> (0.9 cm9 mm <br />0.009 m <br />) +
Mem. Torrey Bot. Club +
adventitious +
0.39 cm3.9 mm <br />0.0039 m <br /> (0.43 cm4.3 mm <br />0.0043 m <br />) +
green +  and gold or redbrown +
shorter than or more or less equaling and narrower than perigynia +
basal +  and proximal +
lanceolate;ovate +
0.43 cm4.3 mm <br />0.0043 m <br /> (0.52 cm5.2 mm <br />0.0052 m <br />) +
herbaceous +  and membranous +
not differentiated +
cylindric +
10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br /> (?) +
Illustrated +  and Endemic +
1 +  and 3 +
septate +, hollow +  and solid +
compressed +, terete +  and trigonous +
papillate +
deciduous +  and persistent +
2-3(-4)-fid +
prolonged +
rounded +  and u--shaped +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br />) +
Carex specifica +
Carex sect. Ovales +
species +
plant +  and cespitose +