Carex planispicata Naczi

Description

Description: Perennial herb, densely caespitose. Rhizomes short, 0.2-8.2 mm long between shoots or branches of the rhizomes, with internodes 0.2-2.2 mm long, 1.6-2.2 mm thick, covered with cataphylls 2-5 mm long. Shoot bases usually surrounded by cataphylls but not by bases of old leaves, strongly purple-red to (3.4-) 5.5-9.6 cm high. Reproductive shoots 14-58 cm tall, erect to spreading, not elongating in fruit; culms 0.5-0.9 mm wide at mid-height, usually smooth throughout but occasionally antrorsely scaberulous in uppermost portions, obtusely trigonous. Cataphylls glabrous, purple-red, multicostate. Leaves of reproductive shoots 1-4, arising in basal 0.005-0.09 of culms, the longest 0.2-0.4 times as long as culms; blades 2.3-14.2 cm long, (1.0-) 2.2-6.5 mm wide, the widest (3.0-) 3.5-6.5 mm wide, green, flat to barely plicate, margins smooth near base and antrorsely scaberulous near apex, adaxial surface smooth or antrorsely scaberulous near apex, abaxial surface smooth; leaf sheaths 0.5-6.3 cm long, tight, glabrous, green; adaxial face of sheaths with hyaline and glabrous band, hyaline band with apex slightly convex or truncate; ligules 0.6-3.3 mm long, lingulate with apex obtuse. Vegetative shoots 19-60 cm tall, 0.66-1.3 times as tall as culms; leaves 4-7, similar to those of culms except blades 2.6-46 cm long; pseudoculms 4.4-11.1 cm tall, 2.1-4.7 mm wide, 0.13-0.26 of vegetative shoot height. Infructescences 10-48 cm long, 0.55-0.96 of culm height, with the spikes widely separate or the upper 2-3 spikes overlapping, the uppermost lateral spikes 1.4-15.6 cm distant, the lowest spikes 6.4-16.2 cm distant; lowest bract with blade 4.9-28 cm long and 0.26-0.61 times as long as culm, sheath 2.3-6.4 cm long, adaxial face of sheath with glabrous and hyaline band occupying full length of sheath or nearly its full length, hyaline band with apex truncate or slightly convex and elongated up to 3.1 (-4.8) mm above sheath apex, sheath glabrous abaxially, ligule 0.7-3.8 (-13.4) mm long; bract blade of uppermost lateral spike 2.9-13.3 cm long and usually much exceeding terminal spike, but very rarely slightly shorter than terminal spike, sheath 2.4-7.6 mm long and glabrous; uppermost bract scale-like, sheathless, body 3.8-5.7 mm long and awn 0-13 mm long. Spikes 3-6, simple, single at nodes, erect; terminal spike (0.6-) 1.4-2.6 (-3.0) cm long, (0.8-) 1.3-2.5 (-3.0) mm wide, entirely staminate, 3-54-flowered, on erect and smooth or barely scaberulous peduncle 2.4-49 mm long, barely to much exceeding upper lateral spikes; lowest spike (0.4-) 0.9-2.1 cm long, (1.6-) 2.9-6.0 mm wide, entirely pistillate, (2-) 5-12-flowered, the perigynia distichously imbricate, the internode between the lowest perigynia 1.1-4.2 mm long, on erect, barely scaberulous or smooth peduncle 1.6-6.2 cm long; upper lateral spikes (0.7-) 1.1-2.4 cm long, (4.0-) 4.5-6.4 (-6.9) mm wide, entirely pistillate and (2-) 7-14-flowered, the perigynia distichously imbricate, on erect and barely scaberulous or smooth peduncles 0.4-3.8 cm long. Staminate scales 3.3-4.9 mm long, 1.1-1.7 mm wide, lanceolate to narrowly oblong, acute, awnless, center green and 1-nerved, margins hyaline and pale red-brown to tawny. Pistillate scales 2.8-4.5 mm long, (1.2-) 1.7-2.2 mm wide; body 1.9-2.8 mm long, 0.39-0.60 times as long as perigynium, broadly ovate to ovate with midrib prolonged as antrorsely scaberulous awn 0.3-2.5 mm long, center green and 2-4-nerved, margins entire, hyaline, whitish or tinged with pale red-brown. Anthers 3, 2.2-3.2 mm long. Styles jointed with achenes, portion distal to achene withering with age, portion proximal to achene persistent and becoming achene beak; base 0.15-0.20 mm wide. Stigmas 3, 1.2-1.8 mm long, withering with age. Perigynia (3.9-) 4.2-4.9 (-5.1) mm long, (1.4-) 1.6-1.8 mm wide, (2.4-) 2.5-3.3 times as long as wide, (1.9-) 2.0-2.3 times as long as achene bodies, ascending, obtusely triangular in cross section, faces flat to slightly convex or adaxial face slightly concave, nerves deeply impressed and 57-69, glabrous, green to red-brown, oblong or elliptic to narrowly oblong or narrowly elliptic in outline, very gradually tapered from widest point to truncate base, gradually tapered to straight and subacute apex, beakless or with a minute beak; beaks 0-0.3 mm long, 0-0.06 of perigynium length, straight, smooth, entire. Achenes 2.8-3.7 mm long, 1.3-1.7 mm wide, faces tightly enveloped by perigynia, obovoid, obtusely trigonous, faces slightly concave to flat, brown, basally abruptly contracted to stipe, apically abruptly contracted to beak; stipe 0.4-1.0 mm long, vertical; body 1.9-2.4 mm long, with widest point 0.6-1.0 mm from body apex; beak (0.3-) 0.4-0.7 mm long, vertical.

Distribution: U.S.A. (AL, AR, DE, DC, GA, IL, IN, KY, LA, MD, MS, MO, NJ, NC, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV).

Habitat: Mesic deciduous forests.

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