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Carex amphibola - (image 1 of 5)

Taxonomy

Family: Cyperaceae

Section Griseae

Habitat

Woods, flood plains, terraces, in acid loams or lime-rich alluvium. In NY usually found in neutral to calcareous woods on slopes surrounding riparian areas.

Associates

Distribution

MA and NY to GA, west to MI, IL, OK, and TX.

Morphology

Tufted perennial; stems 20-80 cm; basal sheaths red-purple to rarely brown; leaves 3.7-7 mm wide; peduncles and axis of inflorescence mostly smooth; terminal spike staminate, sessile or nearly so, usually surpassing the uppermost pistillate one; pistillate spikes 2-4, 5-20 mm, loosely flowered with 3-18 mostly widely spaced perigynia, the lowest near the middle of the stem on exsert peduncles, the upper on shorter peduncles; pistillate scales ovate, 3.7-8 mm long, entire, white-margined and often with red-brown speckles, the mid vein of the lower prolonged into an awn 1.1-6 mm; perigynia spirally imbricate, ellipsoid, obtusely trigonous, 4.2-5.2 mm long and 1.5-1.9(-2.2) mm wide, gradually tapered to the base and apex, finely many-nerved, with a straight beak 0.2 mm or beakless; achenes sharply trigonous with concave sides.

Notes

Fruiting May to July

Wetland indicator: FAC

Similar to C. grisea but the perigynia more triangular in cross section and more slender (2.2-3.1 times as long as wide), 1.5-1.9(-2.2) mm wide and the achene also more slender (1.3-1.8 mm wide) on longer stipes mostly 0.4-0.6 mm long.

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

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