Kobresia Willd.
Plants caespitose (densely). Plants less than 15 cm high, or more than 15 cm high; 3–40 cm high. Roots pallid-brown, or black. Scales absent. Aerial stems erect; filiform, or not filiform; circular or oval in cross section; glabrous. Leaves mostly basal. Sheaths forming a conspicuous build up at the base of the plant; greyish brown, or reddish. Ligules present; 0.1–0.4 mm long. Blades straight; linear; circular in cross section, or folded, or caniculate; glabrous. Blades adaxial surface glabrous.
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 absent. Inflorescence spicate; linear, or oblong, or ovate; 0.8–3 cm long; 2–10 mm wide; a single spike, or multispicate; 2–7 spikes (distinct lateral spikes; each spike made up of 10–20 tiny spike-like panicles "spikelets"); lateral spikes sessile. Individual spike(s) erect, or ascending. Terminal spike staminate at the apex (lateral "spikelets" have male flowers above and female flowers below). Staminate flowers inconspicuous. Floral scales orange brown; with margins the same colour as the body of the scale, or with margins, and sometimes mid-vein paler in colour than the adjacent area of the scale, or with margins paler than body of scale; acute; ovate, or obovate; 2–6.5 mm long; 1–3 mm wide; glabrous. Perianth absent. Anthers 1–3 mm long. Styles long and thick; 1. Stigmas per style 3. Fruit surrounded by a perigynium. Perigynia open on one side (a sterile scale enclosing sterile scales, a pistillate and one or more staminate flowers); lanceolate, or broadly ovate; 1.9–5.5 mm long; 0.8–1.8 mm wide; sessile; erect or ascending; brown; surface dull; glabrous; faintly nerved, or appearing nerveless. Fruit 0.6–3.2 mm long; yellowish, or golden brown, or straw coloured. Achenes not filling the upper part of the perigynia; lenticular, or trigonous.
Chromosome information. 2n = 52, 56–57, 58, 60, 70–75.
Distribution. Circumpolar, or North American. Arctic, or low arctic, or alpine. Range in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago wide-spread, or limited. Common, or rare.
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).