Cascade Sedge

The type locality for Carex scabriuscula is not known. Type specimens refer only to a wet meadow in the Cascade range. Searches, using information from Cusick’s notebooks, have not relocated the species in the Cascades.

The sectional alignment of this taxon also is problematic. Historically, it has been placed in the Scirpinae; ongoing research suggests it should be excluded from the section based on its atypical pubescence, chromosome number, leaf anatomy, multispicate inflorescences, and unique achene micromorphology.

Plants cespitose; rhizomes never conspicuous. Culms erect, (30–) 35–65 cm. Leaves: sheaths and bases from previous year’s leaves persistent; ligules rounded; blades glabrous adaxially. Inflorescences unispicate and multispicate (often with 1–2 short peduncled lateral spikes of same sex), mostly erect, ellipsoid; primary inflorescence bracts leaflike, rarely scalelike, equal to or longer than inflorescences. Scales red-brown to purple, lanceolate, to 3 × 1 mm, shorter than perigynia, margins hyaline, central midrib extending to scale apex, apex acute. Perigynia purple-black, lanceolate, (2.5–)3(–4) × (1–)1.6(–2.5) mm, narrower than subtending scale, apex tapering, distal 1/3 with few short hairs; beak 0.5 mm, orifice oblique; rachilla absent. Achenes to 2.8 × 1.4 mm, loosely enveloped by perigynia, occupying 1/3–2/3 width and 1/3–3/4 length of perigynia. 2n = 58.

Calif., Oreg.

Fruiting late May–Jul.

Serpentine soils; 1000–2000m.

C. gigas (T. Holm) Mackenzie; C. scirpoidea Michaux var. gigas T. Holm

Carex scabriuscula Mackenzie, Bull. Torrey Club 35: 268. 1908. Forming beds, the rootstocks very stout, lignescent, brownish, scaly, short-creeping, the culms 2-9 dm. high, stoutish at base, slender above but strict, sharply triangular and roughened above, much exceeding the leaves, dull-reddish-brown at base, phyllopodic (but with basal scales) the dried-up leaves of the previous year very conspicuous; leaves with well-developed blades 5-10 to a fertile culm, clustered near the base, the blades erect or ascending, with revolute margins, channeled at least towards base, 0.5-2.5 dm. long, 2-4 mm. wide, dull-green, thickish, firm, attenuate, roughened towards the apex, the sheaths smooth or nearly so dorsaUy, white-hyaline and often brownish-tinged ventrally and minutely pubescent, the ligule much wider than long; culms dioecious, the spikes erect, solitary, or 2 or 3; staminate spikes oblongovoid, many-flowered; terminal pistillate spike linear, 1.2-4 cm. long, 4-8 mm. wide, closely flowered except sometimes towards base, the perigynia 20-40, ascending in several to many rows, the spike often with an ovate, short-pointed, scale-like bract at base, and an elongate (2-4 cm. long) bract 1-3 cm. below, its sheath somewhat darkened and very short or scarcely sheathing; lateral spikes, when present, erect or ascending, sessile, similar but shorter, 8-15 mm. long; scales oblong-ovate, glabrous, brownish-black or dark-reddish-brown, with obscure, lighter, 3-ribbed center and nearly obsolete, narrow-hyaline margins, acute or obtuse, nearly as wide as the perigynia but shorter; perigynia 4-4.5 mm. long, 1.5 mm. wide, the body oblongoblanceolate, flattish, nearly sessile, round-tapering at base, yellowish-brown or blackishtinged, membranaceous, puncticulate, minutely puberulent, pubescent on the angles above, the marginal perigynia 2-ribbed, all obscurely few-nerved, tapering into a short beak 0.5-1 mm. long, the apex dark-tinged, emarginate: achenes very small, loosely enveloped in lower third of perigynium, half the width of the perigynium, triangular or lenticular, 1 mm. long, 0.75 mm. wide, oblong-obovoid, yellowish-brown, tapering at base, strongly apiculate, jointed with the straight slender style ; stigmas three or two, slender, not very long.
Type locality: Wet meadow in the Cascade Mountains, Oregon (Cusick 2849, June 30, 1902). Distribution: Cascade and Siskiyou Mountains, Oregon. (Specimens examined showing distribution as given.)

Carex gigas (Holm) Mackenzie, Bull. Torrey Club 35:268. 1908.
Carex scirpoidea var. gigas Holm, Am. Jour. Sci. IV. 18: 20 (16. /. *). 1904. (Type from Siskiyou County, California.)
Forming beds, the rootstocks very stout, lignescent, brownish, scaly, short-creeping, the culms 3-4.5 dm. high, stoutish at base, slender above but strict, sharply triangular and roughened above, much exceeding the leaves, dull-reddish-brown at base, phyllopodic (but with purple-margined basal scales), the dried-up leaves of the previous year conspicuous; leaves with well-developed blades 5-10 to a fertile culm, clustered near base, the blades erect or ascending, channeled at least towards base, the margins rcvolute, 0.5-2 dm. long, 2-3 mm. wide, dull-green, thin but firm, attenuate, roughened towards the apex; sheaths smooth or nearly so dorsally, white-hyaline and often brownish-tinged ventrally and minutely pubescent, the ligule much wider than long; culms dioecious, the spike erect, normally solitary; staminate spike not seen; pistillate spike linear, 1.5-2.5 cm. long, 4-6 mm. wide, closely flowered, except sometimes toward the base, the perigynia 20-40, ascending in several to many rows, the spike with an ovate, short-pointed, scale-like bract at base, and an elongate (2-4 cm. long) bract 1-3 cm. below, its sheath slightly darkened and little (1-3 mm.) sheathing, often with a smaller peduncled spike in its axil; scales oblong-ovate, glabrous, minutely ciliate, brownish with lighter 3-ribbed center and narrow hyaline margin, acute or obtuse, as wide as the perigynia and of about the same length; perigynia 3 mm. long, 2 mm. wide, the body broadly obovoid, flattish, rounded at base, sessile or nearly so, blackish, membranaceous, puncticulate, minutely pubenilent above, sparingly white-pubescent on the angles, the marginal perigynia 2-ribbed, all obscurely few-nerved, rounded at apex and very abruptly contracted into a minute beak 0.5 mm. long, the apex hyaline, bidentate or emarginate; achenes very loosely enveloped, very much narrower (one third as wide) and much shorter than the perigynium, the body triangular or rarely quadrangular, with slightly concave sides, oblong-oval, small, 1.75 mm. long, 0.75 mm. wide, yellowish-brown, tapering at base, stipitate, apiculate, jointed with the straight, slender style; stigmas three or rarely four, slender, not very long.
Type locality (of C. scirpoidea var. gigas on which C. gigas is based): Siskiyou County, California, at 2400 meters elevation (Pringle, August 18, 1881).
Distribution: Known only from dry ridges. Mount Eddy and Grizzly Hill, Siskiyou County, California. (Specimens examined from Siskiyou County, California.)