Carex supina Willd. ex Wahlenb. subsp. spaniocarpa (Steud.) Hultén
K. Vet. Acad. Nya Handl. Stockholm 24: 158. 1803.
Nomenclatural section used by Flora of North America project subgenus Carex, sect. Lamprochlaenae (Drej.) Bailey
Carex supina var. spaniocarpa (Steud.) Boivin
Carex spaniocarpa Steud.
Plants caespitose, or not caespitose (but forming loose clusters). Plants less than 15 cm high; (3–)8–15 cm high. Roots pallid-brown. Ground level or underground stems horizontal; stoloniferous (stolons that are brown, slender and from which arise tufts of leaves and culms); elongate. Scales present (striate, sometimes reddish brown). Aerial stems erect; filiform (0.4–0.5 mm in diameter); triangular in cross section (sharply so); glabrous, or scabrous. Leaves mostly basal. Sheaths brown, or reddish (purplish). Ligules present (less than 1 mm long). Blades straight (crowded); linear; flat (or loosely folded); glabrous, or scabrous (most clearly seen at the tips of the leaves).
Flowering stems about as high as the leaves, or 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; 0.5–2 cm long; with sheath shorter than the blade. Inflorescence spicate; oblong (pistillate), or ovate (staminate); (0.5–)1–2 cm long; 5–10 mm wide; multispicate; 2–3 spikes; lateral spikes sessile (few flowered). Individual spike(s) ascending. Terminal spike wholly staminate (linear). Cladoprophyll present at the base of the peduncle of lateral spikes. Staminate flowers conspicuous. Floral scales as long as the perigynium in fruit; brown; with margins, and sometimes mid-vein paler in colour than the adjacent area of the scale (broad and translucent); ovate (broadly); 2.5–3 mm long; 1.3–1.6 mm wide; glabrous. Perianth absent. Anthers 2.2–2.5 mm long. Styles slender, not extending beyond the beak. Stigmas per style 3. 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; 1.3–1.6 mm wide; sessile; erect or ascending (divergent); black, or brown (often green towards the base); surface glossy (slightly); glabrous (slightly scaberulous near the apex seen at 40X); faintly nerved; with 2 keels (slight); apices beaked with a long beak. Achenes filling the perigynia; trigonous.
Chromosome information. 2n = unknown?.
Distribution. North American. Low arctic. Range in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago limited. Rare (low arctic). Arctic Islands: Baffin (Kimmirut (Lake Harbour), Iqaluit, Clyde Inlet and Pond Inlet), Banks (literature record), Southampton (literature record).
Ecology and habitat. Substrate ridges, cliffs (outcrops and ledges); dry; rock (often granite), gravel, sand; with low organic content. Found in dry, non-calcareous places with Carex nardina, C. rupestris, C. scirpoidea and Kobresia myosuroides.
Notes. Polunin (1940) suggested that this little sedge is widespread but rarely collected.
Illustrations. • Herbarium specimen. Tufted plant with multispicate inflorescence. Note long rhizome on specimen. CAN 204819. • Close-up of inflorescence. Note reduced leaf subtending the inflorescence. Terminal spike staminate at the apex, lateral spikes pistillate. Floral scales with broad translucent margins. Perigynia with long beaks. Nunavut, Baffin Island, Kimmirut, CAN 20772. • 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).
