Carex digitalis

Willdenow

Sp. Pl. 4(1): 298. 1805.

Common names: Carex digital
IllustratedEndemic
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 23. Treatment on page 445. Mentioned on page 443, 446, 447.

Plants densely cespitose. Culms erect or ascending, 7–52 cm × 0.5–1 mm. Leaves: basal sheaths white or light brown; nonbasal sheaths green, 8–37 mm; blades green, 8–44 cm × 0.8–5 mm, shorter than or overtopping culm, 0.5–1.3(–1.8) times as tall as tallest flowering culm; blades of vegetative shoots 1–3.5 times wider than bract blades. Inflorescences: spikes (2–)4 per culm, scattered; peduncles of pistillate spikes 0.5–10.2 cm; of staminate spike 0.4–8.7 cm. Bracts 2.2–11.4 cm × 1–3 mm. Pistillate spikes: proximal usually basal, erect, ascending, or drooping, short to long pedunclulate, 6–18 × 4–5 mm. Staminate spike 1, linear to linear-clavate, 11–24 × (1–)1.2–2.7 mm. Pistillate scales keeled, 1.8–2 × 1–1.2 mm, midribs green, margins hyaline, apex acute, proximal scales of lateral spikes subtending perigyinia. Staminate scales oblong, 2–3.6(–5.5) × 1–1.5 mm, midribs green, margins hyaline, frequently brown tinged, apex acute. Anthers 2–3.3 mm. Perigynia 3–9 per spike, finely veined, obovoid, 2–4.2 × 1.2–1.8 mm; beak tapering. Achenes obovoid, 1.8–2.8 × 1–1.6 mm, sides plane or slightly concave at maturity, tightly fitting perigynia. Style slender, ascending through entire orifice.

Distribution

V23 816-distribution-map.jpg

N.S., Ont., Que., Ala., Ark., Conn., D.C., Del., Fla., Ga., Ill., Ind., Ky., La., Maine, Mass., Md., Mich., Miss., Mo., N.C., N.H., N.J., N.Y., Ohio, Okla., Pa., R.I., S.C., Tenn., Tex., Va., Vt., W.Va., Wis., temperate e North America.

Discussion

Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).

Selected References

None.

Key

1 Terminal spike usually surpassing bract blade of distal lateral spike; longest peduncle of staminate spike (6.3–)8.1–15.9 cm; widest leaves 2–2.9(–3.5) mm wide; perigynia 7–10-veined. Carex digitalis var. macropoda
1 Terminal spike usually surpassed by bract blade of distal lateral spike; longest peduncle of staminate spike 0.9–7.2(–11.4) cm; widest leaves 2.7–4.5(–5.3) mm wide; perigynia (8–)11–15-veined. > 2
2 Peryginia 2.5–3.3 mm, apex barely excurved. Carex digitalis var. digitalis
2 Perigynia 3.2–4.2 mm, apex noticeably excurved. Carex digitalis var. floridana
... more about "Carex digitalis"
Charles T. Bryson +  and Robert F. C. Naczi +
Willdenow +
Carex digital +
N.S. +, Ont. +, Que. +, Ala. +, Ark. +, Conn. +, D.C. +, Del. +, Fla. +, Ga. +, Ill. +, Ind. +, Ky. +, La. +, Maine +, Mass. +, Md. +, Mich. +, Miss. +, Mo. +, N.C. +, N.H. +, N.J. +, N.Y. +, Ohio +, Okla. +, Pa. +, R.I. +, S.C. +, Tenn. +, Tex. +, Va. +, Vt. +, W.Va. +, Wis. +  and temperate e North America. +
Illustrated +  and Endemic +
Carex digitalis +
Carex sect. Careyanae +
species +