The taxonomy of Carex section scirpinae

摘要

Section Scirpinae, as treated herein, forms a cohesive group of dioecious, unispicate sedges with pubescent perigynia, chromosome numbers of n = 31, and similar leaf anatomy, and possesses a high degree of interfertility between subspecies based on hand-pollinations. Taxa in this section are distributed primarily in North America. Taxonomic problems in the group have been related to the lack of a comprehensive monographic treatment, incomplete descriptions, and a lack of an understanding of the patterns of variation in morphological characters across a wide geographic range. Based on evidence from a previous study using morphology, chromosome numbers, leaf anatomy and surface structure, achene and perigynium micromorphology, interbreeding relationships, ecology, and distributions, five taxa are recognized. The section, as treated here, consists of C. scirpoidea, with four subspecies (ssp. scirpoidea, ssp. convoluta, ssp. pseudoscirpoidea, and ssp. stenochlaena), and C. curatorum. Two taxa, C. gigas and C. scabriuscula, have been excluded.