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Carex laxiflora - (image 1 of 2)

Taxonomy

Family: Cyperaceae

Section Laxiflorae  

Habitat

Dry to mesic woods.

Associates

Distribution

ME and southern Quebec to DE and MD and in mountains to NC, TN, and AL, west to WI and IN.

Morphology

Tufted perennial; culms 30-50 cm, erect or ascending, lateral or sometimes central, sharply triangular and narrowly winged, smooth or nearly so; basal sheaths light brown; leaves of short sterile shoots 5-25 mm wide, those of the fertile shoots narrower, 2-8 mm; terminal spike staminate, 1-2.5 cm, on a peduncle 1-2 cm; pistillate spikes 2-4, slender, 1-3 cm long, scattered on short or elongate, erect peduncles, none basal; at least the lower pistillate scales cuspidate or short-awned; perigynia 5-15, only slightly or scarcely overlapping, 2.6-3.8 mm, 2-ribbed and finely many-nerved, obstusely trigonous, obovoid, tapering to a rather short, straight or slightly outcurved beak with an oblique, entire opening; achene trigonous.

Notes

Fruiting April to June

Wetland indicator: UPL

Carex striatula is similar but with larger perigynia (3.4-5 mm long) that taper evenly at both ends; the perigynia of C. laxiflora taper more gradually at the base than to the beak at the apex.

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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