Taxonomy
Family: Cyperaceae
Section Paniceae
Habitat
Dry, rich calcareous woods.
Associates
Distribution
NY and Ontario south to GA, west to MN and IA.
Morphology
Stems 20-60 cm, solitary on stout, shallow, reddish rhizomes, strongly aphyllopodic, the lower sheaths red-purple and bladeless; perigynia more or less 2-ranked, tapering above, at least the lower not overlapping. Otherwise similar to C. tetanica.
Notes
Fruiting May to June
Wetland indicator: FACU
Carex meadii and C. tetanica are similar but typically not found in woodlands, are phyllopodic, have more slender, deeply-seated rhizomes, scarcely reddish leaf sheaths, and 3+ ranked perigynia overlapping throughout the spike.
References
Ball, P.W. and A.A. Reznicek. 2002. Carex, In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee, Eds. Flora of North America North of Mexico. Volume 23. Oxford University Press, New York.
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
© Michael Hough 2018 |