Cyperaceae taxon details
Carex caeligena Reznicek
1678217 (urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:1678217)
accepted
Species
terrestrial
Reznicek, A. A. (1990). Four new species of <i>Carex</i> (Cyperaceae) from Mexico, with notes on the Mexican <i>Carex</i> flora. <em>Contributions from the University of Michigan Herbarium.</em> 17: 279-293., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/12875279#page/288/mode/1up
page(s): 280 [details]
page(s): 280 [details]
Holotype MICH 1109112, geounit Tamaulipas
Holotype MICH 1109112, geounit Tamaulipas [details]
Description Plants cespitose, with short, thick rhizomes; roots greyish brown to dark brown, not densely felted with root hairs;...
Description Plants cespitose, with short, thick rhizomes; roots greyish brown to dark brown, not densely felted with root hairs; fertile culms 40–110 cm tall, trigonous, smooth, with scabrous, purple bladeless sheaths with stramineous veins. Leaves 7–12, mostly basal; blades 19–65 cm long, 2.8–7.8 mm wide, plicate, more or less hispidulous on adaxial surface just above ligule, otherwise glabrous, the margins antrorsely scabrous, the widest leaves 4.7–7.8 mm wide; leaf sheaths 2.9–14.3 cm long, more or less tightly enveloping culms, hispidulous with red prickle-hairs, especially on lower sheaths, strongly purple-tinged near base; inner band of sheaths glabrous, stramineous to purple-tinged, the apex concave to “V”-shaped; ligules (5–)5.5–14 mm long, acute, usually reduced or vestigial on upper leaves, the free portion ciliate. Vegetative shoots 26–64 cm tall; leaves 5–9, similar to those of fertile culms; pseudoculms 2.9–8.6 cm tall. Inflorescences 10–45 cm long, with the upper 3–5 spikes strongly crowded and overlapping and the lowest 2 spikes 4.2–27.5 cm distant; spikes single at nodes, with all but the upper pendulous on filiform, flexuous, smooth peduncles; lowermost spikes with peduncles 2–15.2 cm long, the uppermost lateral spikes with peduncles 0.3–0.9 cm long; lowermost bracts with blades 2.5–24.6 cm long and 1.6–4.7 mm wide and sheaths 1.4–8.6 cm long, the uppermost bracts much reduced. Spikes 5–8, the terminal staminate or sometimes staminate proximally and distally and pistillate in the middle, rarely androgynous, the lateral androgynous or sometimes pistillate (very rarely the uppermost lateral spike wholly staminate). Terminal spikes 1.8–5.7 cm long, 0.9–2.4 mm wide, ca. 60–120-flowered if staminate, otherwise the staminate portion (0–)0.3–1.8 cm long and 3–25-flowered proximally and 0.6–2.3 cm long and 30–90-flowered distally; pistillate middle portion 0.2–2.8 cm long, 3.9–6.5 mm wide, 1–50-flowered; peduncles 1.8–4.8(–7) mm long. Lateral spikes 1.1–6.9 cm long; staminate portion (0–)0.3–1.9(–5.5) cm long, 5–50-flowered; pistillate portion 0.4–4.2(–6.9) cm long, 3–55-flowered. Pistillate scales 2.6–4.5 mm long, 1.4–2.2 mm wide, oblong to obovate, acute to acuminate, sometimes with a scabrous awn up to 0.8 mm long, glabrous or scabrous on midvein, green with broad, hyaline margins, purple-tinged at base, 3-veined. Staminate scales 3.2–5.3 mm long, 1.3–1.9 mm wide, ovate to obovate, obtuse to acuminate, occasionally with a scabrous awn up to 1.1 mm long, glabrous, green with broad, hyaline margins, 3-veined. Perigynia 2.9–4.3 mm long, 1.3–1.8 mm wide, ascending, trigonous with more or less flat, obovate sides, green, pubescent on distal 2/3 of body, cuneately tapered to a short-stipitate base, 14–22-veined with 3–6 prominent and the rest faint, contracted into a beak; beaks 0.4–0.7 mm long, green, hispidulous, the apex oblique or irregularly bidentate, hyaline. Achenes 1.9–2.6 mm long, 1.2–1.6 mm wide, trigonous with more or less flat, obovate sides, tightly enveloped by the perigynium, pale brown, short-stipitate. Styles withering; stigmas 3. Anthers 3, 1.3–2.5 mm long. [details]
Cyperaceae Working Group. (2025). [see How to cite]. Global Cyperaceae Database. Carex caeligena Reznicek. Accessed at: https://cyperaceae.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1678217 on 2026-07-11
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2024-12-10 11:47:54Z
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Nomenclature
original description
Reznicek, A. A. (1990). Four new species of <i>Carex</i> (Cyperaceae) from Mexico, with notes on the Mexican <i>Carex</i> flora. <em>Contributions from the University of Michigan Herbarium.</em> 17: 279-293., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/12875279#page/288/mode/1up
page(s): 280 [details]
page(s): 280 [details]
Present Inaccurate Introduced: alien Containing type locality
Holotype MICH 1109112, geounit Tamaulipas [details]
From editor or global species database
Additional information Carex caeligena is locally frequent in the vicinity of the Rancho del Cielo Biological Station of Texas Southmost College at about 1400-1500 m. It fruits in June and July and grows in oak-sweetgum-maple cloud forest and pine-oak forest.The epithet caeligena, “born of the heavens,” refers to the type locality near Rancho del Cielo, “Ranch of the Heavens.”
[details]
Comparison Carex caeligena differs from C. mackenziana by its much longer ligules, (S—) 5.5-14 mm long as opposed to 0.8—3.5 mm long in C. mackenziana. [details]
Description Plants cespitose, with short, thick rhizomes; roots greyish brown to dark brown, not densely felted with root hairs; fertile culms 40–110 cm tall, trigonous, smooth, with scabrous, purple bladeless sheaths with stramineous veins. Leaves 7–12, mostly basal; blades 19–65 cm long, 2.8–7.8 mm wide, plicate, more or less hispidulous on adaxial surface just above ligule, otherwise glabrous, the margins antrorsely scabrous, the widest leaves 4.7–7.8 mm wide; leaf sheaths 2.9–14.3 cm long, more or less tightly enveloping culms, hispidulous with red prickle-hairs, especially on lower sheaths, strongly purple-tinged near base; inner band of sheaths glabrous, stramineous to purple-tinged, the apex concave to “V”-shaped; ligules (5–)5.5–14 mm long, acute, usually reduced or vestigial on upper leaves, the free portion ciliate. Vegetative shoots 26–64 cm tall; leaves 5–9, similar to those of fertile culms; pseudoculms 2.9–8.6 cm tall. Inflorescences 10–45 cm long, with the upper 3–5 spikes strongly crowded and overlapping and the lowest 2 spikes 4.2–27.5 cm distant; spikes single at nodes, with all but the upper pendulous on filiform, flexuous, smooth peduncles; lowermost spikes with peduncles 2–15.2 cm long, the uppermost lateral spikes with peduncles 0.3–0.9 cm long; lowermost bracts with blades 2.5–24.6 cm long and 1.6–4.7 mm wide and sheaths 1.4–8.6 cm long, the uppermost bracts much reduced. Spikes 5–8, the terminal staminate or sometimes staminate proximally and distally and pistillate in the middle, rarely androgynous, the lateral androgynous or sometimes pistillate (very rarely the uppermost lateral spike wholly staminate). Terminal spikes 1.8–5.7 cm long, 0.9–2.4 mm wide, ca. 60–120-flowered if staminate, otherwise the staminate portion (0–)0.3–1.8 cm long and 3–25-flowered proximally and 0.6–2.3 cm long and 30–90-flowered distally; pistillate middle portion 0.2–2.8 cm long, 3.9–6.5 mm wide, 1–50-flowered; peduncles 1.8–4.8(–7) mm long. Lateral spikes 1.1–6.9 cm long; staminate portion (0–)0.3–1.9(–5.5) cm long, 5–50-flowered; pistillate portion 0.4–4.2(–6.9) cm long, 3–55-flowered. Pistillate scales 2.6–4.5 mm long, 1.4–2.2 mm wide, oblong to obovate, acute to acuminate, sometimes with a scabrous awn up to 0.8 mm long, glabrous or scabrous on midvein, green with broad, hyaline margins, purple-tinged at base, 3-veined. Staminate scales 3.2–5.3 mm long, 1.3–1.9 mm wide, ovate to obovate, obtuse to acuminate, occasionally with a scabrous awn up to 1.1 mm long, glabrous, green with broad, hyaline margins, 3-veined. Perigynia 2.9–4.3 mm long, 1.3–1.8 mm wide, ascending, trigonous with more or less flat, obovate sides, green, pubescent on distal 2/3 of body, cuneately tapered to a short-stipitate base, 14–22-veined with 3–6 prominent and the rest faint, contracted into a beak; beaks 0.4–0.7 mm long, green, hispidulous, the apex oblique or irregularly bidentate, hyaline. Achenes 1.9–2.6 mm long, 1.2–1.6 mm wide, trigonous with more or less flat, obovate sides, tightly enveloped by the perigynium, pale brown, short-stipitate. Styles withering; stigmas 3. Anthers 3, 1.3–2.5 mm long. [details]
To Biodiversity Heritage Library (3 publications)
To European Nucleotide Archive, ENA (Carex caeligena)
To Field Museum Herbarium (Carex caeligena Reznicek F2056880 isotype 1)
To GenBank (3 nucleotides; 1 proteins)
To International Plant Names Index (IPNI)
To Plants of the World Online
To US Herbarium (Carex caeligena US3215746 type 1)
To European Nucleotide Archive, ENA (Carex caeligena)
To Field Museum Herbarium (Carex caeligena Reznicek F2056880 isotype 1)
To GenBank (3 nucleotides; 1 proteins)
To International Plant Names Index (IPNI)
To Plants of the World Online
To US Herbarium (Carex caeligena US3215746 type 1)
From editor or global species database
Hosted externally
Hosted externally
