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Carex pellita - (image 1 of 3)

Taxonomy

Family: Cyperaceae

Habitat

Calcareous fens and moist prairies. Marshes.

Associates

Distribution

New Brunswick and Quebec west to British Columbia, south to VA, TN, AR, and CA.

Morphology

Perennial to 1 m, forming vigorous colonies from creeping rhizomes. Leaves glabrous or scabrous with a distinct midrib, mostly flat, larger blades 2-5 mm wide. Terminal spikelet staminate, 2-5 cm, often subtended by one or two shorter, sessile staminate spikes; pistillate spikes two or three, 1-4 cm, sessile or the lowest one on an erect, slender peduncle; leafy bracts present, the lowest elongate, often surpassing the terminal spikes; perigynia pubescent, less than 5 mm long; stigmas 3. Achenes trigonous.

Notes

Flowers late April to June.

Wetland indicator: Obligate

Rare in a few states. Carex lasiocarpa Ehrh. is similar but with leaves that are folded along the midrib rather than flat. The pistillate spikes shown here are still a little green; in time they will develop dense pubescence over the perigynia.

References

Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.
The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY

Swink, F. and G. Wilhelm. 1994. Plants of the Chicago Region.
Indiana Academy of Science. The Morton Arboretum. Lisle, Illinois.

USDA, NRCS. 2002. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov).

National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

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