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Carex digitalis - (image 1 of 6)

Taxonomy

Family: Cyperaceae

Section Careyanae  

Habitat

Dry to mesic woods.

Associates

Distribution

ME to FL, west to WI, IL, MO, and eastern TX.

Morphology

Tufted perennial; stems 10-50 cm; fertile stems weak, hispidulous, triangular but not winged; basal sheaths white or light brown; leaves roughened on the margins and hispidulous on the veins near the apex, those of the sterile shoots 1-5 mm wide, the fertile ones 1-3 mm wide; terminal spike staminate 1.5-5 cm, on a peduncle 0.5-8.5 cm long; pistillate spikes 1-3, scattered, 6-22 mm, erect to pendulant, on short to elongate peduncles, the lowest usually basal; pistillate scales acute; perigynia 3-9, with many fine nerves as well as 2-ribbed, 2-4 mm, obovoid and sharply trigonous, obscurely beaked; achene trigonous.

Notes

Fruiting May to July

Wetland indicator: UPL

Carex abscondita is similar but the staminate spike is more or less sessile and often hidden by the bracts and pistillate spikes.

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

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