256 



( lYPBRACEAE 



Carex 



Miles 

 —55 

 Map 525 

 "Carex Oederi 

 var. prolifera H. B. Lord 



28. § EXTENSAE 



Perigynia 2-3 mm long, little if at all deflexed, the beak much shorter than the body; 

 spikes oblong, 4-7 mm wide. 

 Spikes 2-7, the lower often separate, the terminal usually staminate, conspicuous; 



pistillate scales usually reddish-tinged 98. C. viridula. 



Spikes 4-15, mostly densely aggregated, the terminal usually androgynous with the 

 staminate portion very small and inconspicuous; pistillate scales usually very 



slightly if at all reddish-tinged 98a. Carex viridula f. intermedia. 



Perigynia 3.5-6 mm long, at least the lower conspicuously deflexed, the beak equaling 

 the body; spikes subglobose, 7-12 mm wide. 

 Perigynia 3.5-4.5 mm long, the beak smooth, pale at the tip; scales slightly if at all 

 reddish-tinged, largely concealed by the perigynia; leaf blades 1-3 mm wide. 



99. C. cryptolepis. 



Perigynia 4.5-6 mm long, the beak serrulate, reddish-tinged at the tip; scales 

 strongly reddish-tinged, conspicuous in the spikes; leaf blades 3-5 mm wide. 

 100. C. flava. 



98. Carex viridula Michx. (See, Jour. Bot. 77: 301-304. Nov. 1939.) 

 {Carex Oederi var. viridula, Carex Oederi var. pumila (Coss. & Germ.) 

 Fern., and Carex irregularis Schwein.) Map 524. Frequent on marly and 

 sandy lake borders, and in swales among the dunes. 



Newf. to Alaska, southw. to N. J., Ind., N. Mex., Utah, and Calif. 



98a. Carex viridula f. intermedia (Dudley) Hermann, comb. nov. (Carex 

 Oederi f. intermedia Dudley, Bull. Cornell Univ. 2:117. 1886.) (Carex 

 chlorophila Mack, and Carex Oederi var. prolifera H. B. Lord.) Map 

 525. Infrequent in the habitats of the preceding variety. 



the characters employed by .Mackenzie to distinguish his C. chlorophila from 

 ('. viridula very few seem to hold with any degree of constancy. A careful study of an 

 ext< series of both plants has shown the characteristics ascribed to the leaf blades 



and sheaths to be wholly unreliable. The characters used in the above key to separate 

 c. chlorophila from c. viridula (the former here considered as a form of C. viridula), 

 although often well-marked, are tendencies only and they, together with a generally 

 lat<T flowering and fruiting date (contrarj to Mackenzie's note in \. Amer. Flora 18: 



' that C. Oederi, C. viridula, and C. chlorophila "bl n and bear fruit from early 



Bummer until frost"), do nol seem suflicientlj constant to maintain C. chlorophila as a 

 species. Qmbach's collections oi June I and 24, L899, and Deam nos. 14412 (June 3, 

 1927) and 42172 (Aug. L9, L925) are intermediate in nearly all characters, but on the 

 basis of the early fruiting date of the first three they may be referred to C. .viridula 

 while the late date of the last would place it nearer f. intermedia. 



