Carex nardina

Fries

Novit. Fl. Suec. Mant. 2: 55. 1839.

Common names: Carex à odeur de nard
Illustrated
Synonyms: Carex elyniformis A. E. Porsild Carex hepburnii Boott Carex nardina var. atriceps Kükenthal Carex nardina subsp. hepburnii (Boott) Á. Löve, D. Löve & B. M. Kapoor Carex nardina var. hepburnii (Boott) Kükenthal Carex stantonensis
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 23. Treatment on page 569. Mentioned on page 567.

Pistillate scales brown, distal margins broadly hyaline, ovate, as wide and as long as or slightly shorter than perigynia, midvein slightly raised. Perigynia green becoming light brown at maturity, 3–5 × 1.4–2 mm, distal margins serrulate; beak tip brown or hyaline. 2n = 68, 70.


Phenology: Fruiting Jul–Aug.
Habitat: Exposed arctic and alpine tundra, usually calcareous, cliffs, rocky slopes, ridges, and summits
Elevation: 50–3300 m

Distribution

V23 1087-distribution-map.jpg

Greenland, Alta., B.C., Nfld. and Labr., N.W.T., Nunavut, Ont., Que., Yukon, Alaska, Colo., Idaho, Mont., Nev., Utah, Wash., Wyo., Eurasia.

Discussion

Much has been written about variation in Carex nardina, but little has been resolved. Russian taxonomists have long maintained that C. nardina is a species restricted to Iceland, Svalbard, Noway, and Sweden and is distinct at the rank of species from C. hepburnii (T. V. Egorova 1999). The differences of perigynia, cited by Egorova and well illustrated in A. Cronquist (1969), can define two taxa, which have been viewed as minor variations (E. Hultén 1958) or good species. The Scandinavian material does appear to constitute a single taxon, C. nardina.

In North America both forms occur, but without the clear geographic limits offered by A. E. Porsild (1943). Carex nardina and C. hepburnii differ in the following characteristics: perigynia shape: ovate or spindle-shaped versus obovate or broadly elliptic; size: (3–)3.5–5 × 1.4–1.6 mm versus 3–5 × 1.5–2mm; beak formation and size: gradually formed, 0.5 mm, obscure to 0.4 mm; stipe formation and size: distinct, 0.5–1 mm verusus obscure (less than 0.2 mm); and range: Iceland, Svalbard, Norway, North America, Russian Far East versus Sweden and possibly North America. In time, perhaps, a clearer picture of the taxa in North America will emerge.

Carex nardina superficially resembles taxa in Carex sect. Filifoliae and can be confused with Kobresia myosuroides.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.
... more about "Carex nardina"
David F. Murray +
Nardinae +
Carex à odeur de nard +
Greenland +, Alta. +, B.C. +, Nfld. and Labr. +, N.W.T. +, Nunavut +, Ont. +, Que. +, Yukon +, Alaska +, Colo. +, Idaho +, Mont. +, Nev. +, Utah +, Wash. +, Wyo. +  and Eurasia. +
50–3300 m +
Exposed arctic and alpine tundra, usually calcareous, cliffs, rocky slopes, ridges, and summits +
Fruiting Jul–Aug. +
Novit. Fl. Suec. Mant. +
Illustrated +
Carex elyniformis +, Carex hepburnii +, Carex nardina var. atriceps +, Carex nardina subsp. hepburnii +, Carex nardina var. hepburnii +  and Carex stantonensis +
Carex nardina +
Carex sect. Nardinae +
species +