Title: Spikes of a species of Carex. Photo by S. A. Mori.
Description: Male and female spikes of a species of Carex based on an unvouchered plant from the Gargano Peninsula, Italy. Note that the upper spikes are male and the lower ones are female. The flowers of both sexes are subtended by scales. Most, but not all, Cyperaceae are wind-pollinated and the dangling anthers and plumose stigmas are adaptations to this type of pollination. Determination by B. Gibbons.
Term:
Plumose
Definition:
Feathery or bearing featherlike hairs or bristles.