Lisa A. Standley

Plants loosely cespitose, long-rhizomatous. Culms red-brown at base. Leaves: basal sheaths not or slightly fibrous; sheath fronts membranous; blades V-shaped in cross section when young, glabrous. Inflorescences racemose, with 3–6 spikes; proximal bracts leaflike, sheathless or sheath less than 4 mm; lateral spikes pistillate, cylindric, with usually more than 30 perigynia or distal 1–3 spikes staminate, pedunculate, prophyllate; terminal spikes staminate. Proximal pistillate scales with apex acute or acuminate. Perigynia ascending to spreading, 2 strong marginal veins, otherwise veinless, substipitate, elliptic, round or rounded-trigonous in cross section, less than 10 mm, base rounded, apex rounded, abuptly beaked, puberulent-papillose, glabrous; beak straight, to 0.1 mm, orifice entire. Stigmas 3. Achenes trigonous, smaller than bodies of perigynia; style deciduous, base not conspicuously enlarged.

Species 2–3 (1 in the flora): introduced; Eurasia.

Lower Taxon

• Carex flacca Schreber