Carex bigelowii Torr. ex Schwein subsp. lugens (Holm) Egorova
In Novosti Sist. Vyssh. Rast. 10: 104. 1973
Nomenclatural section used by Flora of North America project subgenus Carex, sect. Phacocystis Dumortier
Carex lugens Holm
Carex lugens Holm
Carex yukonensis Holm
Carex cyclocarpa Holm
Plants caespitose. Plants more than 15 cm high (usually); (8–)15–35(–40) cm high. Roots pallid-brown. Ground level or underground stems horizontal, or vertical and often branched (elongated stems tending to be vertical rather than horizontal), or not developed horizontally or vertically; compact. Scales present. Aerial stems erect; not filiform (1–1.6 mm in diameter); triangular in cross section; sparsely hairy (on the angles). Leaves mostly basal. Sheaths brown, or reddish. Ligules present. Blades straight; linear; flat, or revolute, or folded; not septate nodulose (distinguishing this species from C. aquatilis); hairy (scaberulous on the midrib and margins).
Flowering stems conspicuously taller than the leaves. Leaf or reduced bract closely associated with the base of the inflorescence present; reduced, or scale-like; shorter than the apex of the inflorescence (usually); 0.7–3.2 cm long; sheathless. Inflorescence spicate; oblong, or ovate (pistillate spikes), or linear (staminate spike); 2–5 cm long; 10–20 mm wide. Pedicels scabrous. Inflorescence multispicate; 3–4 spikes; lateral spikes borne on pedicels. Individual spike(s) erect. Terminal spike wholly staminate. Cladoprophyll present at the base of the peduncle of lateral spikes. Staminate flowers conspicuous. Floral scales shorter than the perigynium in fruit, or as long as the perigynium in fruit; black (purplish); with margins, and sometimes mid-vein paler in colour than the adjacent area of the scale (margins hyaline, midvein narrow and green); not reflexed (spreading at maturity); ovate; 2–3.5 mm long; 1–2 mm wide; glabrous. Perianth absent. Anthers 2.5–3 mm long. Styles thick and short. Stigmas per style 2. Fruit surrounded by a perigynium. Perigynia fused to the apex except for a small aperture through which the style protrudes; broadly ovate; 2.5–3 mm long; 1.4–1.8 mm wide; sessile (less than 0.15 mm long); erect or ascending; black (purplish mottled with green towards the base, uniformly purple brown at the apex); surface dull; glabrous; papillose; appearing nerveless; not keeled; apices merely conical or rounded. Achenes filling the perigynia; lenticular.
Chromosome information. 2n = 80.
Distribution. North American (Northwest America). Low arctic. Range in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago limited. Rare. Arctic Islands: Banks (Sachs Harbour and Masik River, the latter is a new record since Porsild, 1957), Victoria (Prince Albert Sound and Holman).
Ecology and habitat. Substrate marshes, river terraces, tundra (shrubby or marshy); imperfectly drained; silt, till; peat (older deposits), or with high organic content.
Illustrations. • Arctic Island distribution.
Cite this publication as: Aiken, S.G., Boles, R.L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 1999 onwards. ‘Cyperaceae of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: Descriptions, Illustrations, Identification, and Information Retrieval.’ Version: 6th November 2000. http://http://www.mun.ca/biology/delta/arcticf/. Dallwitz (1980) and Dallwitz, Paine and Zurcher (1993, 1995, 2000) should also be cited (see References).
