Carex vexans

F. J. Hermann

Rhodora 57: 156. 1955.

IllustratedEndemic
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 23. Treatment on page 366. Mentioned on page 339, 367, 368.

Plants cespitose; rhizomes appearing elongate in old clumps. Culms 25–80 cm; vegetative culms few, inconspicuous, usually fewer than 15 leaves, not strikingly 3-ranked. Leaves: sheaths conspicuously green-veined nearly to collar, narrow hyaline band or sharp Y-shaped region at collar, adaxially firm, summits U-shaped, sheaths sometimes finely papillose; distal ligules 2.4–5.6 mm; blades 2–5 per fertile culm, 10–25 cm × 2–5 mm. Inflorescences dense to open, green or brown, 1.5–4 cm × 10–20 mm; proximal internode 2–12 mm; 2d internode 3–10 mm; proximal bracts scalelike, with bristle tips shorter than inflorescences. Spikes 3–6, distant, distinct, ellipsoid to ovoid-globose, 8–20 × 6–10 mm, base rounded or short-acute, apex broadly obtuse to rounded. Pistillate scales white-hyaline or brown with pale-brown or green 1-veined midstripe, lanceolate, 3.3–4 mm, as long as and narrower than perignyia, apex acute or obtuse. Perigynia 15–80 in larger spikes, spreading, light to dark-brown, inconspicuously or shortly veined on each face, broadly elliptic or orbiculate to sharply obovate, flat except over achene, 4–6.1 × 3–4.4 mm, 0.45–0.6 mm thick, sometimes nearly leathery, base rounded, margin flat, including wing 0.7–1.5 mm wide, smooth; beak spreading, light-brown at tip, flat, 0.7–1.6 (–1.8) mm, 1/3 length of body, ciliate-serrulate, abaxial suture with hyaline, pale-brown margin, distance from beak tip to achene 2–3 mm. Achenes oblong, 1.5–2 × 0.9–1.2 mm, 0.3–0.5 mm thick. n = 33+III. 2n = 68, 70.


Phenology: Fruiting early summer.
Habitat: Sandy, calcareous soils of marsh borders, bottomlands, ditches, thickets, and seasonally wet fields
Elevation: 0–20 m

Discussion

Carex vexans is very similar to C. alata. However, even in their zone of potential overlap in northern Florida, the two species can be readily separated on the basis of pistillate scales, perigynium shape, and habitat (P. E. Rothrock et al. 1997).

See note under 146. Carex longii.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

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

... more about "Carex vexans"
smaller +
0.3mm +  and 0.5mm +
bidentatate +
papillose +
obtuse;acute;broadly obtuse;rounded +
Joy Mastrogiuseppe +, Paul E. Rothrock +, A. C. Dibble +  and A. A. Reznicek +
F. J. Hermann +
persistent +
rounded +  and short-acute +
not enlarged +
ciliate-serrulate +
0.16 cm1.6 mm <br />0.0016 m <br /> (0.18 cm1.8 mm <br />0.0018 m <br />) +
0.07 cm0.7 mm <br />7.0e-4 m <br /> (0.16 cm1.6 mm <br />0.0016 m <br />) +
10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br /> (25 cm250 mm <br />0.25 m <br />) +
2 +  and 5 +
v--shaped +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 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 +
inconspicuous +
fertile +  and vegetative +
round +  and trigonous +
25 cm250 mm <br />0.25 m <br /> (80 cm800 mm <br />0.8 m <br />) +
0.24 cm2.4 mm <br />0.0024 m <br /> (0.56 cm5.6 mm <br />0.0056 m <br />) +
0–20 m +
open +, pistillate +  and staminate +
hypogynous +  and subtending +
biconvex +  and trigonous +
Sandy, calcareous soils of marsh borders, bottomlands, ditches, thickets, and seasonally wet fields +
brown +  and green +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br />) +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br />) +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
not prophyllate +, sessile +  and pistillate +
multi-ranked +, 2-ranked +, 3-ranked +  and alternate +
basal +  and cauline +
pale-brown +  and hyaline +
0.7mm +  and 1.5mm +
green +  and pale-brown +
with (1-)3-6(-30) bristles and/or scales +
light +  and dark-brown +
0.45mm +  and 0.6mm +
Fruiting early summer. +
2-3(-4)-carpellate +
3 (?) +  and 1 (?) +
sheathless +  and bristlelike +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br />) +
y--shaped +  and sharp +
adventitious +
brown +  and white-hyaline +
basal +  and proximal +
lanceolate +
0.33 cm3.3 mm <br />0.0033 m <br /> (0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br />) +
herbaceous +  and membranous +
not differentiated +
papillose +
cylindric +
Illustrated +  and Endemic +
distinct +
0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br /> (2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br />) +
ellipsoid;ovoid-globose +
0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
1 +  and 3 +
septate +, hollow +  and solid +
compressed +, terete +  and trigonous +
papillate +
deciduous +  and persistent +
2-3(-4)-fid +
u--shaped +
Carex vexans +
Carex sect. Ovales +
species +
plant +  and cespitose +