Carex sect. Anomalae
brown [purple-] or red-brown at base, sharply angled or winged.
basal sheaths not fibrous;
sheath fronts membranous, pubescent;
blades M-shaped in cross section when young, adaxial side of blade with 2, lateral, veins more prominent than midvein, septate-nodulose, larger blades 8–23 mm wide, not hairy, sometimes scabrous on adaxial surface [or puberulous].
racemose, with 4–8(–9) spikes;
proximal nonbasal bracts leaflike, sheathless or sheath less than 4 mm, pubescent;
lateral spikes pistillate, pedunculate, prophyllate;
terminal spike staminate (rarely gynecandrous).
ascending or spreading, veined or veinless, with 2, strong, marginal veins, slightly stipitate, [ovate to lance- or oblong-ovate] obovate, rounded-trigonous in cross section, less than 10 mm, base tapering or rounded, apex abruptly contracted to beak, glabrous or scabrous;
beak conic, recurved, 0.7–1.9 mm, orifice hyaline, erose or bidentate, teeth less than 0.8 mm.
trigonous, almost as large as bodies of perigynia;
style deciduous.
pistillate scales with apex acute or awned.
3.
Carex sect. Anomalae
Species ca. 20 (2 in the flora).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Perigynia 2-ribbed and strongly 6–8-veined, scabrous-puberulent; leaf blades and bracts dark green, prominently scabrous on margins and adaxial surface; culm bases brownish; e North America. | C. scabrata |
1. Perigynia 2-ribbed, otherwise veinless or inconspicuously 1–7-veined, glabrous; leaf blades and bracts light green or grayish blue-green-green, (at least the faces) glabrous; culm bases usually red tinged; w North America. | C. amplifolia |
