Glaucous Sedge

Carex flacca Schreb. Spic. Fl. Lips. App. 1771
Carex glauca Scop. Fl. Cam. ed. 2. 2: 223. 1772. (Type from Carniola.) "Carex limosa L." Leers, Fl. Herborn. 201. pi. 15, f. 3. 1775. (Plant from Germany.) Carex limosa Leers, Fl. Herborn. 201. 1775. (Plant from Germany.) Carex recurva Huds. Fl. Angl. ed. 2. 413. 1778. (Type from England.) Carex aspera Willd. Fl. Berol. 32. 1787. (Type from Berlin, Germany.) Carex verna y Lam. Encyc. 3: 395. 1791. (Based on C. glauca Scop.) Carex Irachycarpos Link, Jour. Bot. Schrad. 1799=: 310. 1799. (Type from Portugal.) Carex Micheliana Smith, Trans. Linn. Soc. 5: 270. 1800. (Type from Aberdeen, Scotland.) "Carex acuta L." Suter, Fl. Helv. 2: 261. 1802. (Plant from Switzerland.)
Carex nigro-lutea Gaudin, Etr. Fl. 196. 1804; Agrost. Helv. 2 : 196. 1811. (Type from Switzerland.) Carex thuringiaca Willd. Sp. PI. 4: 250. 1805. (Type from Thuringia.) Carex recurva C. aspera Willd. Sp. PI. 4: 299. 1805. (Based on C. aspera Willd.) Carex ambleocarpa Willd. Sp. PI. 4: 307. 1805. (Based on C. Micheliana Smith.) Carex genuensis DC. Cat. PI. Hort. Monsp. 87. 1813. (Type from Genoa, Italy.) Carex glauca C. aspera Poir. in Lam. Encyc. Suppl. 3: 277. 1813. (Based on C. aspera Willd.) Trasus glaucus S. F. Gray, Nat. Arr. Brit. PI. 2: 67. 1821. (Based on Carex glauca Scop.) Trasus glaucus var. Michelianus S. F. Gray, Nat. Arr. Brit. PI. 2 : 68. 1821. (Based on Carex Micheliana Smith.) Trasus glaucus var. ramosus S. F. Gray, Nat. Arr. Brit. PI. 2: 68. 1821. (Type from England.) Carex glauca var. vulgaris Spenner, Fl. Frib. 68. 1825. (Based on C. glauca Scop.) Carex glauca var. oligostachya Spenner, Fl. Frib. 68. 1825. (Type from Germany.) Carex glauca var. gynobasis Spenner, Fl. Frib. 68. 1825. (Type from Germany.) Carex glauca var. erecta Spenner, Fl. Frib. 68. 1825. (Type from Germany.) Carex glauca var. brevistachya Spenner, Fl. Frib. 68. 1825. (Type from Germany.) Carex glauca var. glabra Spenner, Fl. Frib. 68. 1825. (Type from Germany.) Carex glauca var. androgvna Spenner, Fl. Frib. 68. 1825. (Type from Gemany.) Carex stictocarpa Smith, Engl. Fl. 4: 127. 1828. (Type from Scotland.) Carex glauca forma Kunth. Enum. PI. 2: 459. 1837. (Based on C. thuringiaca Willd.) Carex glauca f. typica Drejer, Symb. Car. 20. 1844. (Based on C. glauca Scop.) Carex glauca f. arrecta Drejer, Symb. Car. 20. 1844. (Based on C. ambleocarpa Willd.) Carex glauca f. bulbosa Drejer, Symb. Car. 20. 1844. (Type locality not given.) Carex glauca var. scabra Peterm. Flora 27: 337. 1844. (Type from Germany.)
Carex glauca var. sphaerostachys Lange, Haandb. Danske Fl. ed. 2. 620. 1859. (Type from Denmark.) Carex glauca var. arenosa Schur, Enum. PI. Transsilv. 713. 1866. (Type from Transsylvania.) Carex glauca var. leptostachys Schur, Enum. PI. Transsilv. 713. 1866. (Type from Transsylvania.) Carex glauca var. laxiflora Schur, Enum. PI. Transsilv. 713. 1866. (Type from Transsylvania.) Carex glauca var. ambleocarpa Schur, Enum. PI. Transsilv. 713. 1866. (Based on C. ambleocarpa
Willd.) Carex flacca f. melanostachya Uechtr.; Fiek, Fl. Schles. 486. 1881. (Type from Germany.) Carex glauca var. rotundata Callme, Deuts. Bot. Monats. 6:1. 1888. (Type from Germany.) Carex glauca f. subrolundata Kiikenth. Deuts. Bot. Monats. 8: 107. 1890. (Type from Germany.) Carex flacca var. typica G. Beck, Fl. Nieder-Oesterr. 141. 1890. (Based on C. flacca Schreb.) Carex flacca var. aggregala G. Beck, Fl. Nieder-Oesterr. 141. 1890. (Type from Austria.) Carex flacca var. basigyna G. Beck, Fl. Nieder-Oesterr. 141. 1890. (Type from Austria.) Carex flacca var. pallida G. Beck, Fl. Nieder-Oesterr. 141. 1890. (Type from Austria.)
Carex flacca var. microcarpa G. Beck, Fl. Nieder-Oesterr. 141. 1890. (Type from Austria.)
Carex flacca var. melanocarpa Murr, Oesterr. Bot. Zeits. 41 : 90. 1891. (Type from Austria.)
Carex flacca var. oogyna Murr, Oesterr. Bot. Zeits. 41 : 90. 1891. (Type from Austria.)
Carex hinnidea C. B. Clarke, Symb. Ant. 2: 159. 1900. (Type from Jamaica.)
Carex glauca var. depauperata Hoschede, Bull. Acad. Geogr. Bot. 12: 205. 1903. (Type from
France.) Carex glauca stirps eu-glauca Asch. & Graebn. Syn. Mitteleur. Fl. 2 2 : 135. 1902. (Based on C.
glauca Scop.) Carex glauca var. silvalica Asch. & Graebn. Syn. Mitteleur. Fl. 2 2 : 135. 1902. (Type from central
Europe.) Carex glauca var. typica Asch. & Graebn. Syn. Mitteleur. Fl. 2 2 : 135. 1902. (Based on C. glauca
Scop.) Carex glauca var. typica subvar. pallida Asch. & Graebn. Syn. Mitteleur. Fl. 2-: 135. 1902. (Based
on C. flacca var. pallida G. Beck.) Carex glauca var. typica subvar. melanostachys Asch. & Graebn. Syn. Mitteleur. Fl. 2 2 : 135. 1902.
(Based on C. flacca f. melanostachya Uechtr.) Carex glauca var. typica subvar. thuringiaca Asch. & Graebn. Syn. Mitteleur. Fl. 2 2 : 136. 1902.
(Based on C thuringiaca Willd.) Carex glauca var. Micheliana Asch. & Graebn. Syn. Mitteleur. Fl. 2 2 : 136. 1902. (Based on C.
Micheliana Smith.) Carex flacca var. chlorocarpa R. Keller, Bull. Herb. Boiss. II. 3: 377. 1903. (Type from southeastern Switzerland.) Carex glauca f. pubicarpa Rohlena, Sitz.-ber. Bohm. Ges. Wiss. 1904 38 : 95. 1905. (Type from
Montenegro.) Carex glauca f. arislolepis Kiikenth.; L. Gross. Mitt. Bad. Bot. Ver. 210/211 : 75. 1906. (Type from
Germany.) Carex glauca f. scabra "Peterm." Kiikenth. in Engler, Pflanzenreich 4 20 : 417. 1909. (Based on C.
glauca var. scabra Peterm.) Carex glauca f. thuringiaca "Kunth" Kiikenth. in Engler, Pflanzenreich 4 20 : 417. 1909. (Based on
C. thuringiaca Willd.) Carex glauca f. subrotunda Kiikenth. in Engler, Pflanzenreich 4 20 : 417. 1909. (Change of spelling
for C. glauca f. subrotundala Kiikenth.) Carex glauca f. leplostachys "Schur" Kiikenth. in Engler, Pflanzenreich 4 20 : 417. 1909. (Based on
C. glauca var. leptostachya Schur.) Carex glauca f. laxiflora "Schur" Kiikenth. in Engler, Pflanzenreich 4 20 : 417. 1909. (Based on C.
glauca var. laxiflora Schur.) Carex glauca f. silvatica "Asch. & Graebn." Kiikenth. in Engler, Pflanzenreich 4 20 : 417. 1909.
(Based on C. glauca var. silvatica Asch. & Graebn.) Carex glauca f. pallida "G. Beck" Kiikenth. in Engler, Pflanzenreich 4 20 : 417. 1909. (Based on C.
glauca var. pallida G. Beck.) Carex glauca f. flavescens Kiikenth. in Engler, Pflanzenreich 4 20 : 417. 1909. (Type European.) Carex glauca f. chlorocarpa "R. Keller" Kiikenth. in Engler, Pflanzenreich 4 20 : 417. 1909. (Based
on C. glauca var. chlorocarpa R. Keller.) Carex glauca f. melanostachya "Uechtr." Kiikenth. in Engler, Pflanzenreich 4 20 : 417. 1909. (Based
on C. flacca f. melanostachya Uechtr.) Carex glauca f. Micheliana "Asch. & Graebn." Kiikenth. in Engler, Pflanzenreich 4 20 :417. 1909.
(Based on C. Micheliana Smith.)
Loose cespitose from slender, elongate rootstocks, sending forth long slender horizontal stolons, the culms slender but stiff and erect, phyllopodic, 2-6 dm. high, exceeding the leaves, sharply triangular with flat sides, rough above, reddish-brown at base, leaves with welldeveloped blades 8-15 to a fertile culm, mostly clustered near the base, not septate-nodulose, the blades flat with revolute margins above and keeled below, usually 1-4 dm. long, 2-5 mm. wide, glaucous, thick, spreading, rough-serrulate on margins, the sheaths tight, copper-colored ventrally, concave at mouth, not breaking nor becoming filamentose, the ligule much wider than long; sterile shoots aphyllopodic, the lower sheaths breaking and becoming sparingly filamentose; staminate spikes 1-3, approximate, the uppermost short-peduncled, the lateral sessile, linear, 1.5-4 cm. long, 2-6 mm. wide, the scales oblong-obovate, obtuse, brownishblack with lighter midrib and hyaline margins; pistillate spikes 2 or 3, not aggregated, at first erect, soon more or less nodding on slender, rough peduncles, usually somewhat shorter than the spikes, often staminate at apex, linearor oblong-cylindric, 1-4 cm. long, 5-7 mm. wide, containing 50-100 ascending or at length somewhat spreading perigynia closely packed in several rows; bracts leaflet-like, the lowest equaling or exceeding inflorescence, sub-sheathing and dark-tinged at base; scales ovate-lanceolate, acute, acuminate or often short-mucronate, dark-brown with lighter center and hyaline margins, nearly as wide as and often nearly equaling perigynia; perigynia ovoid-oval or obovoid, suborbicular and slightly triangular in crosssection, 3 mm. long, 1.7 mm. wide, nerveless except the two marginal nerves, granular, sparingly appressed-hispid above, coriaceous, straw-colored or becoming brownish-black, rounded and substipitate at base, rounded at apex, abruptly very minutely beaked, the beak hardly 0.3 mm. long with entire orifice; achenes obovoid, 2.5 mm. long, 1.25 mm. wide, rather closely enveloped, triangular, the angles rounded, the sides rather convex below, brownish-puncticulate, jointed with the very abruptly bent, very short, non-exserted, slender style; stigmas 3, slender.
Type locality: "Ad fossas passim, v. c. loco ab ill. Boehmero indicato," Leipzig, Germany.
Distribution: Naturalized in meadows, Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Ontario; St. Croix; Jamaica. Widely distributed in Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa. (Specimens examined from Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario, Jamaica.)