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spreading arctic sedge, weak arctic sedge

Habit Plants loosely cespitose, usually long-rhizomatous. Plants densely or loosely cespitose, short to long rhizomatous.
Culms

to 30 cm.

red or purple at base.

Leaves

blades 3–15 cm × 1–1.5 mm.

basal sheaths fibrous or not;

sheath fronts membranous;

sheaths and larger leaves sometimes septate-nodulose;

blades V-shaped in cross section when young, widest leaf blades 1–2 mm wide, glabrous.

Inflorescences

racemose, with 2–4(–5) spikes;

bracts sheathless or short-sheathing, less than 4 mm, scalelike or with short threadlike blade;

lateral spikes pistillate, subsessile to short-pedunculate, prophyllate;

terminal spike staminate.

Spikes

staminate 5–15 × 1–2 mm;

pistillate to 15 × 5 mm.

Perigynia

yellow-green to brown, 2.5–3.3 × 1.2–2 mm;

beak 0.4–0.9 mm.

ascending to spreading, veinless or obscurely veined with 2 distinct marginal veins, ovate to obovate, rounded-trigonous in cross section, base tapering or rounded and shortly stipitate, apex to abrupt beak, glabrous;

beak 0.3–0.9 mm, orifice entire or shortly bidentate.

Achenes

obovoid, 1.7–2 × 1.3–1.4 mm.

trigonous, almost as large as bodies of perigynia;

styles deciduous.

Pistillate

scales red-brown, margins hyaline, ovate to ovate-circular, 2–3.5 × 1.4–2.2 mm, apex subobtuse to acuminate, ± covering perigynium body.

Staminate

scales light brown, margins hyaline, oblong-lanceolate, 3–4.5 × 1–1.8 mm, apex acute.

Proximal

pistillate scales white-hyaline or red-brown, apex obtuse to acuminate.

Stigmas

3.

2n

= 36.

Carex supina subsp. spaniocarpa

Carex sect. Lamprochlaenae

Phenology Fruiting summer.
Habitat Dry meadows and bluffs, rock outcrops, sandy soil on lakeshores and flood plains
Elevation 10–1300 m (0–4300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; MN; BC; MB; NT; NU; ON; SK; YT; Greenland; nc Asia; ne Asia (Siberia, Russian Far East)
[BONAP county map]
North America; Eurasia; and nw Africa
Discussion

Species 12 (2 in the flora).

K. K. Mackenzie (1931–1935, parts 2–3, pp. 182, 221) did not recognize the section. He placed C. supina in sect. Obtusatae and C. glacialis in sect. Petraeae (sect. Rupestres). Other authors have not associated these species with unispicate species and, recently, sect. Lamprochlaenae has been recognized, although circumscription of the section has varied (V. I. Kreczetowicz 1935; A. O. Chater 1980; T. V. Egorova 1999). The circumscription followed here is that proposed by Egorova.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Perigynia yellow-green to brown, 2.5–3.3 × 1.2–2 mm; staminate scales 3–4.5 mm, light brown; plants loosely cespitose, usually long-rhizomatous.
C. supina
1. Perigynia reddish black to dark brown distally, 1.5–2.5 × 0.9–1.2 mm; staminate scales 2–3 mm, reddish black or dark brown; plants densely cespitose, short-rhizomatous.
C. glacialis
Source FNA vol. 23, p. 557. FNA vol. 23. Authors: Peter W. Ball, David F. Murray.
Parent taxa Cyperaceae > Carex > sect. Lamprochlaenae > Carex supina Cyperaceae > Carex
Subordinate taxa
C. glacialis, C. supina
Synonyms C. spaniocarpa C. unranked Lamprochlaenae
Name authority (Steudel) Hultén: Acta Univ. Lund., n. s. 38: 365. (1942) (Drejer) L. H. Bailey: in J. M. Coulter, Man. Bot. Rocky Mt., 377. (1885)
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