Cyperaceae taxon details
Carex humilis Leyss.
1676443 (urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:1676443)
accepted
Species
- Variety Carex humilis var. humilis
- Variety Carex humilis var. scirrobasis (Kitag.) Y.L.Chang & Y.L.Yang
- Forma Carex humilis f. callitrichos (V.I.Krecz.) T.Koyama accepted as Carex callitrichos V.I.Krecz.
- Subspecies Carex humilis subsp. lanceolata (Boott) T.Koyama accepted as Carex lanceolata Boott
- Variety Carex humilis var. callitrichos (V.I.Krecz.) Ohwi accepted as Carex callitrichos V.I.Krecz.
- Variety Carex humilis var. floribunda (Korsh.) T.Koyama accepted as Carex pediformis var. pediformis
- Variety Carex humilis var. longifolia Stoeva & E.D.Popova accepted as Carex humilis var. humilis
- Variety Carex humilis var. nana (H.Lév. & Vaniot) Ohwi accepted as Carex callitrichos var. nana (H.Lév. & Vaniot) S.Yun Liang, L.K.Dai & Y.C.Tang
- Variety Carex humilis var. subpediformis (Kük.) T.Koyama accepted as Carex lanceolata var. subpediformis Kük.
terrestrial
Leysser, F. W. (1761). Flora Halensis; exhibens plantas circa Halam Salicam crescentes secundum systema sexuale Linnaeanum distributas. , available online at https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.6338
page(s): 175 [details]
page(s): 175 [details]
Description Rhizomes shortly creeping, becoming very tufted and often dying out in the centre; shoots densely fasciculate at branch...
Description Densamente cespitosa, con rizoma grueso, a veces con un largo tramo vertical o ascendente. Tallos (2)3,5–11 cm,...
Description Rhizome short. Culms densely tufted, 2-5 cm tall, subcylindric, smooth, brown and persistent sheathed at base. Leaves 3-5...
Taxonomic remark Source in seed data: wcs Update namepublishedIn from Fl. Halens. 175. 1761 [Jan 1761, or earlier] to Fl. Halens. : 175...
Description Rhizomes shortly creeping, becoming very tufted and often dying out in the centre; shoots densely fasciculate at branch tips; roots purple-brown; scales red-brown, persisting as fibres. Stems 2–10 (rarely to 15) cm, slender, often arcuate or flexuous, subterete, solid, often hidden by leaves. Leaves up to 20 cm × 1–1.5 mm, rough, stiff, arcuate, at first flat, later becoming channelled, tapering from base to a fine trigonous point, dark green, pale purple-brown on decay, overwintering; hypostomous; sheaths white with green veins, becoming orange- and red-brown, persistent, eventually fibrous and clothing the rhizome; inner face hyaline; apex concave; ligule 0.5–1 mm, rounded. Inflorescence up to 3/4 the length of the stem; bracts with sheath 3–8 mm, glumaceous, hyaline or pale brown, almost enclosing the female spike. Male spike 1, 10–15 mm; male glumes 5–7 mm, elliptic-oblanceolate, reddish- or purple-brown with very broad hyaline margin and pale midrib, apex obtuse or subacute. Female spikes 2–4, distant, 4–10 mm, fusiform, with 2–4 flowers only; peduncles 1–2 mm, ensheathed; whole spike ± enclosed by hyaline bracts; female glumes 2–3 mm, obovate to broadly elliptic, clasping the utricle and appearing narrower, red-brown, hyaline at edges and base; apex obtuse, often mucronate. Utricles c. 2.5 mm, obovoid, pyriform, trigonous, hispid; beak almost absent, truncate; stigmas 3; nut ± ellipsoid, trigonous, stalked. [details]
Description Densamente cespitosa, con rizoma grueso, a veces con un largo tramo vertical o ascendente. Tallos (2)3,5–11 cm,...
Description Densamente cespitosa, con rizoma grueso, a veces con un largo tramo vertical o ascendente. Tallos (2)3,5–11 cm, obtusamente trígonos, algo escábridos hacia el ápice. Hojas 0,2–1(1,5) mm de anchura, de mayor longitud que los tallos, algo ásperas en los bordes, sobre todo hacia el ápice, canaliculadas o enrolladas, ± rígidas; lígula diminuta; sin antelígula; vainas basales con limbo desarrollado, variablesmente deshechas en fibras, de color pardo. Bráctea inferior glumácea o setácea, de menor longitud que la inflorescencia, envainante. Espiga masculina solitaria, de (8)10–15(26) mm, fusiforme; espigas femeninas 2–3(4), hasta de 9 mm, con (1)2–3(4) flores, distribuidas a lo largo de todo el tallo, no solapadas, sésiles o cortamente pedunculadas, erectas. Glumas masculinas de oblongas a ovales, de ápice truncado, de color pardo, con ancho margen escarioso; glumas femeninas ovales, de ápice agudo, obtuso o mucronulado, de color pardo a pardo rojizo, con margen escarioso muy ancho, ± iguales que los utrículos. Utrículos 2,5–3 × 1–1,5 mm, suberectos, de contorno obovado, trígonos, con los nervios poco perceptibles, pubescentes, verdosos o de color pardo claro, estipitadas, bruscamente contraídos en un pico de 0,1–0,2 mm, entero o cortamente bidentado, curvado. Aquenios 1,8–2,1 × 0,9–1,2 mm, de contorno elíptico, trígonos, pardos. 2n = 36*, 38*, 72*. [details]
Description Rhizome short. Culms densely tufted, 2-5 cm tall, subcylindric, smooth, brown and persistent sheathed at base. Leaves 3-5...
Description Rhizome short. Culms densely tufted, 2-5 cm tall, subcylindric, smooth, brown and persistent sheathed at base. Leaves 3-5 × as long as culm, flat, blades 1-2 mm wide, soft or slightly stiff, loosely pubescent. Involucral bracts reddish brown, spathelike, with broad white hyaline margins at sheath mouth, involucral bract blades setaceous. Spikes 2-5, remote; terminal spike male, linear-cylindric, 1-1.4 cm, ca. 2 mm thick, many flowered; lateral spikes 1 or 2, female, ovate or oblong, 5-7 mm, loosely 2-7-flowered; peduncles short, enclosed in sheath or lowermost one slightly exserted; rachis tortuous. Female glumes red-brown laterally, green at middle, ovate, ca. 4 mm, 1-veined, margins broadly white hyaline, base enclosing rachis, apex acute. Utricles greenish, slightly shorter than glume, obovate-oblong, trigonous, 3-3.2 mm, membranous, loosely ferruginous punctate, densely pubescent, 2-veined laterally, not distinctly thinly veined, base abruptly contracted into a short stipe, apex subrounded and shortly beaked, beak purple-red, truncate at orifice. Nutlets dark brown at maturity, elliptic or obovate-oblong, trigonous, 2.5-3 mm, base attenuate into a short stipe, apex with bent short beak; style base slightly thickened; stigmas 3. [details]
Taxonomic remark Source in seed data: wcs Update namepublishedIn from Fl. Halens. 175. 1761 [Jan 1761, or earlier] to Fl. Halens. : 175...
Taxonomic remark Source in seed data: wcs Update namepublishedIn from Fl. Halens. 175. 1761 [Jan 1761, or earlier] to Fl. Halens. : 175 (1761), information provided by Alan E. on email Jun. 07 2021 More details could be found in [details]
Cyperaceae Working Group. (2025). [see How to cite]. Global Cyperaceae Database. Carex humilis Leyss.. Accessed at: https://cyperaceae.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1676443 on 2026-05-18
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Nomenclature
original description
Leysser, F. W. (1761). Flora Halensis; exhibens plantas circa Halam Salicam crescentes secundum systema sexuale Linnaeanum distributas. , available online at https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.6338
page(s): 175 [details]
basis of record Plants of the World Online (POWO). , available online at https://powo.science.kew.org/ [details]
page(s): 175 [details]
basis of record Plants of the World Online (POWO). , available online at https://powo.science.kew.org/ [details]
Taxonomy
taxonomy source
Jermy, A.C.; Simpson, D.A.; Foley, M.J.Y.; Porter, M.S. (2007). Sedges of the British Isles. 554 pp. Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland, United Kingdom. [details] Available for editors 
[request]
taxonomy source Luceño, M., Castroviejo, S., Jiménez-Mejías, P. (2008). Cyperaceae. In: Castroviejo, Luceño, M., Galán, A., Jiménez-Mejías, P., Cabezas, F., Medina, L. (eds). Flora iberica. Plantas vasculares de la Península Ibérica e Islas Baleares. Vol. XVIII. Madrid: CSIC., available online at https://bibdigital.rjb.csic.es/records/item/12958-flora-iberica-vol-18-cyperaceae-pontederiaceae?offset=, http://www.floraiberica.es/PHP/familias_lista_.php?familia=Cyperaceae [details]
[request]taxonomy source Luceño, M., Castroviejo, S., Jiménez-Mejías, P. (2008). Cyperaceae. In: Castroviejo, Luceño, M., Galán, A., Jiménez-Mejías, P., Cabezas, F., Medina, L. (eds). Flora iberica. Plantas vasculares de la Península Ibérica e Islas Baleares. Vol. XVIII. Madrid: CSIC., available online at https://bibdigital.rjb.csic.es/records/item/12958-flora-iberica-vol-18-cyperaceae-pontederiaceae?offset=, http://www.floraiberica.es/PHP/familias_lista_.php?familia=Cyperaceae [details]
Other
additional source
Li, B. Z.; Zhang, S. R. (2024). An updated species checklist and taxonomic synopsis of Cyperaceae in China. <em>Biodiversity Science.</em> 32(7): 24106., available online at https://doi.org/10.17520/biods.2024106 [details] Available for editors [request]
[request]
Present Inaccurate Introduced: alien Containing type locality
Syntype BM 001067050, geounit Hungary [details]
From editor or global species database
Description Rhizomes shortly creeping, becoming very tufted and often dying out in the centre; shoots densely fasciculate at branch tips; roots purple-brown; scales red-brown, persisting as fibres. Stems 2–10 (rarely to 15) cm, slender, often arcuate or flexuous, subterete, solid, often hidden by leaves. Leaves up to 20 cm × 1–1.5 mm, rough, stiff, arcuate, at first flat, later becoming channelled, tapering from base to a fine trigonous point, dark green, pale purple-brown on decay, overwintering; hypostomous; sheaths white with green veins, becoming orange- and red-brown, persistent, eventually fibrous and clothing the rhizome; inner face hyaline; apex concave; ligule 0.5–1 mm, rounded. Inflorescence up to 3/4 the length of the stem; bracts with sheath 3–8 mm, glumaceous, hyaline or pale brown, almost enclosing the female spike. Male spike 1, 10–15 mm; male glumes 5–7 mm, elliptic-oblanceolate, reddish- or purple-brown with very broad hyaline margin and pale midrib, apex obtuse or subacute. Female spikes 2–4, distant, 4–10 mm, fusiform, with 2–4 flowers only; peduncles 1–2 mm, ensheathed; whole spike ± enclosed by hyaline bracts; female glumes 2–3 mm, obovate to broadly elliptic, clasping the utricle and appearing narrower, red-brown, hyaline at edges and base; apex obtuse, often mucronate. Utricles c. 2.5 mm, obovoid, pyriform, trigonous, hispid; beak almost absent, truncate; stigmas 3; nut ± ellipsoid, trigonous, stalked. [details]Description Densamente cespitosa, con rizoma grueso, a veces con un largo tramo vertical o ascendente. Tallos (2)3,5–11 cm, obtusamente trígonos, algo escábridos hacia el ápice. Hojas 0,2–1(1,5) mm de anchura, de mayor longitud que los tallos, algo ásperas en los bordes, sobre todo hacia el ápice, canaliculadas o enrolladas, ± rígidas; lígula diminuta; sin antelígula; vainas basales con limbo desarrollado, variablesmente deshechas en fibras, de color pardo. Bráctea inferior glumácea o setácea, de menor longitud que la inflorescencia, envainante. Espiga masculina solitaria, de (8)10–15(26) mm, fusiforme; espigas femeninas 2–3(4), hasta de 9 mm, con (1)2–3(4) flores, distribuidas a lo largo de todo el tallo, no solapadas, sésiles o cortamente pedunculadas, erectas. Glumas masculinas de oblongas a ovales, de ápice truncado, de color pardo, con ancho margen escarioso; glumas femeninas ovales, de ápice agudo, obtuso o mucronulado, de color pardo a pardo rojizo, con margen escarioso muy ancho, ± iguales que los utrículos. Utrículos 2,5–3 × 1–1,5 mm, suberectos, de contorno obovado, trígonos, con los nervios poco perceptibles, pubescentes, verdosos o de color pardo claro, estipitadas, bruscamente contraídos en un pico de 0,1–0,2 mm, entero o cortamente bidentado, curvado. Aquenios 1,8–2,1 × 0,9–1,2 mm, de contorno elíptico, trígonos, pardos. 2n = 36*, 38*, 72*. [details]
Description Rhizome short. Culms densely tufted, 2-5 cm tall, subcylindric, smooth, brown and persistent sheathed at base. Leaves 3-5 × as long as culm, flat, blades 1-2 mm wide, soft or slightly stiff, loosely pubescent. Involucral bracts reddish brown, spathelike, with broad white hyaline margins at sheath mouth, involucral bract blades setaceous. Spikes 2-5, remote; terminal spike male, linear-cylindric, 1-1.4 cm, ca. 2 mm thick, many flowered; lateral spikes 1 or 2, female, ovate or oblong, 5-7 mm, loosely 2-7-flowered; peduncles short, enclosed in sheath or lowermost one slightly exserted; rachis tortuous. Female glumes red-brown laterally, green at middle, ovate, ca. 4 mm, 1-veined, margins broadly white hyaline, base enclosing rachis, apex acute. Utricles greenish, slightly shorter than glume, obovate-oblong, trigonous, 3-3.2 mm, membranous, loosely ferruginous punctate, densely pubescent, 2-veined laterally, not distinctly thinly veined, base abruptly contracted into a short stipe, apex subrounded and shortly beaked, beak purple-red, truncate at orifice. Nutlets dark brown at maturity, elliptic or obovate-oblong, trigonous, 2.5-3 mm, base attenuate into a short stipe, apex with bent short beak; style base slightly thickened; stigmas 3. [details]
Taxonomic remark Source in seed data: wcs Update namepublishedIn from Fl. Halens. 175. 1761 [Jan 1761, or earlier] to Fl. Halens. : 175 (1761), information provided by Alan E. on email Jun. 07 2021 More details could be found in [details]
Translation Densely cespitose, with a thick rhizome, sometimes with a long vertical or ascending section. Stems (2)3.5–11 cm, obtusely trigonous, somewhat scabrid toward the apex. Leaves 0.2–1(1.5) mm wide, longer than the stems, slightly rough on the margins, especially toward the apex, channelled or rolled, ± rigid; ligule minute; no anteligule; basal sheaths with a developed blade, variably breaking into fibres, brown. Lower bract glumaceous or setaceous, shorter than the inflorescence, sheathing. Male spike solitary, (8)10–15(26) mm, fusiform; female spikes 2–3(4), up to 9 mm, with (1)2–3(4) flowers, distributed along the entire stem, not overlapping, sessile or shortly pedunculate, erect. Male glumes oblong to ovate, with a truncate apex, brown, with a broad scarious margin; female glumes ovate, with an acute, obtuse or mucronulate apex, brown to reddish-brown, with a very broad scarious margin, approximately equalling the utricles. Utricles 2.5–3 × 1–1.5 mm, suberect, obovate in outline, trigonous, with nerves scarcely perceptible, pubescent, greenish or pale brown, stipitate, abruptly contracted into a 0.1–0.2 mm beak, entire or shortly bidentate, curved. Achenes 1.8–2.1 × 0.9–1.2 mm, elliptic in outline, trigonous, brown. 2n = 36*, 38*, 72*. [details]
To Biodiversity Heritage Library (456 publications)
To European Nucleotide Archive, ENA (Carex humilis)
To International Plant Names Index (IPNI)
To Plants of the World Online
To the Natural History Museum, London (Carex humilis Leyss. BM001067050 type 1)
To the Natural History Museum, London (Carex humilis Leyss. BM001067051 type 1)
To the Natural History Museum, London (Carex humilis Leyss. BM001067052 type 1)
To European Nucleotide Archive, ENA (Carex humilis)
To International Plant Names Index (IPNI)
To Plants of the World Online
To the Natural History Museum, London (Carex humilis Leyss. BM001067050 type 1)
To the Natural History Museum, London (Carex humilis Leyss. BM001067051 type 1)
To the Natural History Museum, London (Carex humilis Leyss. BM001067052 type 1)
From editor or global species database
Hosted externally
Hosted externally
Hosted externally
