Hawaiian Species of Carex — KRAUSS 
263 
of this form might indicate that it is a true 
variety with hereditary characters. On the 
other hand further collections of intermedi- 
ates would validate the view now taken or 
cause complete union of this population with 
that of the species. 
Carex Svenonis Skottsberg, Acta Horti. 
Gotob. 15:329-333, 1944 
Figs. 6a— c, 7 
Carex Svenonis var. alakaiensis Skottsb., 
Acta Horti. Gotob. 15:330-333, 1944. 
Rootstocks caespitose, freely branching; 
basal scales 2-3 mm. wide, 0.5-2. 5 mm. 
long, 1-3 per culm, hbrillose, caducous, 
brown, many fertile culms in a tuft (10-15 
per 16 sq. cm.); fertile culm unequally tri- 
agonal, slender, broadest side 0.5-0. 9 mm. 
wide, 25-30 cm. long, faces slightly concave, 
glabrous, pendent to erect; leaves filiform to 
slender, pendent at the ends, three-sided, 
deeply grooved on one side near the base, 
slightly so at the tip, scabrous on the three 
sides, light green; sheaths broad, membra- 
nous, enclosing culm and younger leaves up 
to 8 cm. above the rootstock, tight, brown to 
green; inflorescence 5 mm. wide, 2—5 cm. 
long, 3-7 spikes per culm, one spike per 
node, the lower nodes 1 cm. apart, the upper 
closer, each spike subtended by a leafy bract 
O % cm. 
Fig. 6. Perigynia of Carex Svenonis Skottsb. 
a, Forbes 934.H; b, Forbes 1181.M; c, Forbes 
934.FI (ventral side). 
which narrows at once to a filiform, scabrous 
awn, 0.5-8 cm. long; terminal spikes stami- 
nate, lateral spikes androgynous, gynaecan- 
drous, or both, 3-4 mm. wide, 3-12 mm. 
long, sessile, subtended within the leafy bract 
by a large bract or scale; pistillate bracts 1.5 
mm. wide, 1.5-2. 8 mm. long, broad ovate to 
triangular, hyaline with a single broad, dor- 
sal nerve, acuminate, smooth on margins; 
staminate bracts similar, slightly reduced; 
perigynia 1-1.5 mm. wide, 1.5-3. 5 mm. 
long, ovoid, convex-concave, strongly invagi- 
nate or cordate at the base, sessile or short 
stipitate, distinctly 5-9-nerved, glabrous, ros- 
trum indistinct, scarcely separate from the 
gradually tapering body, broad, toothed, the 
apex unequally shallowly bidentate, fre- 
quently splitting down the entire length of 
the perigynia along a weakened line in the 
center of the convex side; achenes ovate, sti- 
pitate, glabrous, tan; style 0.5 mm. long, di- 
viding into two stigmas 2-3 mm. long, taper- 
ing, glandular, reddish. 
Distribution: Hawaii and Maui above 
5,000 feet in Zones D:; and E of Ripperton 
and Hosaka (1942), in bogs or wet regions 
of the upper forest. 
Type: S. Berggren, Aug. 1875, Hawaii, in 
silva montis Mauna Kea. 
Specimens examined 
maui: Forbes 1181. M, Bog below Waia- 
napanapa, Aug. 20, 1919. 
Hawaii: Degener 19223, 29 miles, Kila- 
uea, June 7, 1929, (NY); Forbes 934.H, In 
1880-1 flow below Kipuka ahiu, June 24, 
1915; Skottsberg 6781, Piihonua, on Puu Oo 
trail near crossroad, Apr. 7, 1948. 
This species is a member of subgenus Vig- 
nea Beauv. (Kiikenthal 1909:111), section 
Elongatae Kunth (Kiikenthal 1909:226). 
This section presents a large number of spe- 
cies of worldwide distribution. The charac- 
ters differentiating the species are so minor 
that the vast majority must be reduced to 
synonymy. Mackenzie lists a group of 19 
species under section Stellulatae of Kunth. 
