Carex sect. Glaucescentes
reddish purple at base.
basal sheaths sometimes fibrous;
sheath fronts reddish or green, veined, herbaceous;
blades with 2 lateral adaxial veins more prominent than midvein, M-shaped in cross section when young, glabrous or scabrous, strongly glaucous.
racemose, with 5–8 spikes;
proximal bracts leaflike, long-sheathing, sheath shorter than diameter of stem;
lateral spikes pistillate or some androgynous, pendent, pedunculate, prophyllate;
terminal spikes usually staminate.
divergent or ascending, weakly to strongly veined on faces, with 2 strong marginal veins, usually sessile, elliptic or ovate, trigonous in cross section, base tapering, apex abruptly beaked, glabrous, papillose;
beak less than 5 mm, erose-ciliate to very shortly bidentate.
trigonous, smaller than bodies of perigynia;
style deciduous.
pistillate scales with apex acute to acuminate or awned, awn to 3.5 mm;
staminate scales awned.
3.
Carex sect. Glaucescentes
Species 3 (3 in the flora).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Perigynia prominently 6–8-veined; pistillate scale apex acute. | C. joorii |
1. Perigynia indistinctly veined or veinless; pistillate scales retuse. | → 2 |
2. Faces of perigynia weakly veined; achenes rhomboid, length and width equal; leaves glabrous or sparsely scabrous on margins and abaxial surface. | C. verrucosa |
2. Faces of the perigynia veinless or indistinctly 3–4-veined on each face; achenes ellipsoid, longer than wide; leaves strongly scabrous on margins and abaxial surface. | C. glaucescens |
