Compilation
Carex concolor

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Name

Identification
Carex concolor R.Br. [family CYPERACEAE ] (stored under name);
Related name
  • Carex aquatilis
  • Carex speciosa
  • Carex concolor
Common name
  • Carex de Bigelow, Flora of North America Vol. 23

Flora

Entry for Carex bigelowii Torrey ex Schweinitz subsp. bigelowii [family CYPERACEAE]
Herbarium
Flora of North America (FNA)
Collection
Flora of North America
Resource Type
Reference Sources
Entry From
Flora of North America, Vol 23,
Names
Carex bigelowii Torrey ex Schweinitz subsp. bigelowii [family CYPERACEAE]
Carex anguillata Drejer [family CYPERACEAE]
Carex concolor R. Brown [family CYPERACEAE]
Carex rigida Goodenough [family CYPERACEAE]
Carex rigida var. bigelowii (Torrey ex Schweinitz) Tuckerman [family CYPERACEAE]
Carex rigida var. concolor (R. Brown) Kükenthal [family CYPERACEAE]
Carex washingtoniana Dewey [family CYPERACEAE]
Treatment Author(s)
Peter W. Ball
A. A. Reznicek
Information
Plants not cespitose. Proximal pistillate spike loosely flowered, base often attenuate, less often cuneate. Perigynia green, spotted purple-black on apical 1/2, not uniformly black, 1.8–3.5 × 1.1–2 mm; stipe 0.15–0.45 mm, apex acute, sometimes rounded, minutely papillose. 2n = 68–71.
Phenology Fruiting
aug
summer
sep
fall
Altitude range
0–2000 m;
Distribution
GreenlandEurope.USA MaineUSA N.H.USA N.Y.USA Vt.Canada Man.Canada Nfld. and Labr.Canada N.B.Canada N.W.T.Canada NunavutCanada Ont.Canada Que.Canada Sask.
Discussion
Carex bigelowii subsp. bigelowii is highly variable in height and shape, stipe length, and color of perigynia. The isolated populations at the southeastern extreme of the range (New York and New England) tend to have larger, more apically acute perigynia than in the northern parts of the range. Although usually distinct from the western subsp. lugens, occasional eastern plants are not distinguishable based on morphology.
The ecology of Carex bigelowii subsp. bigelowii has been extensively studied (K. A. Kershaw 1962; T. V. Callaghan 1976; R. W. Fonda and L. C. Bliss 1966). Chromosome numbers reported for subsp. bigelowii are lower than the number reported for subsp. lugens, and indicate that there may be considerable genetic differentiation between these taxa as suggested by Hultén’s hypothesis that these are the two ends of a circumpolar Rassenkreise.

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