Carex digitalis
Sp. Pl. 4(1): 298. 1805.
Plants densely cespitose. Culms erect or ascending, 7–52 cm × 0.5–1 mm. Leaves: basal sheaths white or light brown; nonbasal sheaths green, 8–37 mm; blades green, 8–44 cm × 0.8–5 mm, shorter than or overtopping culm, 0.5–1.3(–1.8) times as tall as tallest flowering culm; blades of vegetative shoots 1–3.5 times wider than bract blades. Inflorescences: spikes (2–)4 per culm, scattered; peduncles of pistillate spikes 0.5–10.2 cm; of staminate spike 0.4–8.7 cm. Bracts 2.2–11.4 cm × 1–3 mm. Pistillate spikes: proximal usually basal, erect, ascending, or drooping, short to long pedunclulate, 6–18 × 4–5 mm. Staminate spike 1, linear to linear-clavate, 11–24 × (1–)1.2–2.7 mm. Pistillate scales keeled, 1.8–2 × 1–1.2 mm, midribs green, margins hyaline, apex acute, proximal scales of lateral spikes subtending perigyinia. Staminate scales oblong, 2–3.6(–5.5) × 1–1.5 mm, midribs green, margins hyaline, frequently brown tinged, apex acute. Anthers 2–3.3 mm. Perigynia 3–9 per spike, finely veined, obovoid, 2–4.2 × 1.2–1.8 mm; beak tapering. Achenes obovoid, 1.8–2.8 × 1–1.6 mm, sides plane or slightly concave at maturity, tightly fitting perigynia. Style slender, ascending through entire orifice.
Distribution
Temperate e North America.
Discussion
Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).
Selected References
None.
Lower Taxa
Key
| 1 | Terminal spike usually surpassing bract blade of distal lateral spike; longest peduncle of staminate spike (6.3–)8.1–15.9 cm; widest leaves 2–2.9(–3.5) mm wide; perigynia 7–10-veined. | Carex digitalis var. macropoda |
| 1 | Terminal spike usually surpassed by bract blade of distal lateral spike; longest peduncle of staminate spike 0.9–7.2(–11.4) cm; widest leaves 2.7–4.5(–5.3) mm wide; perigynia (8–)11–15-veined. | > 2 |
| 2 | Peryginia 2.5–3.3 mm, apex barely excurved. | Carex digitalis var. digitalis |
| 2 | Perigynia 3.2–4.2 mm, apex noticeably excurved. | Carex digitalis var. floridana |