Carex sect. Forficulae in Flora of China @ efloras.org

42. Carex sect. Forficulae (Franchet ex Kükenthal) Raymond, Mém. Jard. Bot. Montréal. 53: 57. 1959.

溪水薹草组 xi shui tai cao zu

Authors: Prof. Song-Yun Liang, Tetsuo Koyama & Gordon C. Tucker

Carex subsect. Forficulae Franchet ex Kükenthal in Engler, Pflanzenr. 38(IV. 20): 334. 1909 ["Forsiculae"].

Rhizome often stoloniferous. Culms trigonous, clothed at base with bladeless sheaths ± disintegrating into reticulate fibers. Leaves flat, margins revolute. Involucral bracts leaflike, sheathless. Spikes 3-6; upper 1 or 2 spikes male; remaining spikes female, cylindric, densely many flowered, upper ones approximate, sessile, lowest spike distant from next, with erect short peduncle. Female glumes brown or pale, with mucro or not. Utricles membranous, plano-convex or biconvex, nerveless or obscurely veined, with beak.

About seven species: E and SE Asia; seven species (one endemic) in China.

1 Stigmas persistent, ca. 2 × as long as utricle (2)

+ Stigmas deciduous (3)

2 (1) Utricles oblong or oblong-lanceolate, abruptly contracted above to a smooth long beak. 415 C. rubrobrunnea

+ Utricles ovate or obovate, abruptly contracted above to an often scabrous medium-sized beak. 416 C. sadoensis

3 (1) Utricles shorter than or equaling glume. 421 C. luctuosa

+ Utricles longer than glume (4)

4 (3) Utricles scabrous on upper margins. 417 C. forficula

+ Utricles smooth on upper margins (5)

5 (4) Utricles nerveless except for 2 costas on edges, usually with purple-black flecks. 420 C. otaruensis

+ Utricles veined, uniformly yellowish to brown (6)

6 (5) Utricles 2-toothed at orifice; female glumes purple-red, green at middle, apex acuminate. 418 C. heterolepis

+ Utricles entire or emarginate at orifice; female glumes dark purple-black, green 3-veined costa excurrent into a scabrous awn at emarginate apex. 419 C. teres

Lower Taxa