Carex speciosa Kunth var. speciosa

Jin, Xiao-Feng, Cen, Jia-Meng, Hahn, Marlene, Lu, Yi-Fei & He, Jin-Jing, 2015, Notes on Carex (Cyperaceae) from China (II): a taxonomic revision of sect. Radicales (Kük.) Nelmes, Phytotaxa 217 (2), pp. 117-132 : 130

(10a) Carex speciosa Kunth var. speciosa ( Figure 4 : D–H)

Carex concolor Nees (in Wight 1834: 125), non R. Br. In 1823. Type:— INDIA. Without precise locality, 1820, N. Wallich 3391 (holotype, K!).

Carex funhuangshanica F. T. Wang & Tang ex P. C. Li (in Li 1999: 168). Type:— CHINA. Guangxi: Wuming, Gechang , Mount. Fenghuang, 7 Jun 1955, Guangxi Exped. 475 (holotype, PE!; isotype, PE!).

Carex speciosa Kunth var. abscondita Kük. (1940: 318) . Type:—SUMATRA. East coast, Mount. Sibajak, 12 Jan 1922, Lörzing 8676 (holotype, B).

Carex speciosa Kunth var. angustifolia Böecheler (1876: 388) . Type:— INDIA. East india, 1820, Ejd. hb. 3391 (holotype, B).

Carex speciosa Kunth var. minor Boott (1858: 52) . Type:— INDIA. Without precise locality, 1820, N. Wallich 3175 (holotype, K!).

Perennial herbs. Rhizomes long, ligneous. Culms densely caespitose, 15–30 cm tall, 1–1.5 mm thick, slender, trigonous, narrowly winged or wingless, soft, slightly scabrous. Leaves shorter or longer than culms, flat; blades 3–10 mm wide, soft, smooth, with dark brown persistent sheaths at base. Involucral bracts leaf-like, longer than inflorescence; blades 2.5–5 mm wide, long sheathed at base. Spike single, terminal, or 2–4, lateral spikes extended from middle or base of culms, androgynous, cylindrical, densely flowered, 10–40 mm long, 3–5 mm wide, long or shortly pedunculate; staminate part of spike usually shorter than pistillate part. Staminate scales ovate to oblong, ca. 3 mm long, pale green, acute or acuminate at apex, green 1-veined costa. Pistillate scales green, broadly ovate to oblong, 2–4.5 mm long, obtuse or acuminate at apex, green 1-veined costa. Perigynia longer than pistillate scales, green, ellipsoid, trigonous, 4–5 mm long, sparsely pubescent on upper part, later glabrescent, 2-veined laterally and thinly veined, shortly stipitate at base, ciliate and narrowly winged or wingless at margins, attenuate into a short beak at apex; orifice 2-lobed with short teeth. Achenes ovoid, 2.5–3 mm long, stipitate at base, beakless at apex; style slightly thickened or not thickened at base, sparsely pubescent or glabrous; stigmas 3.

Additional specimens examined:— CHINA. Sichuan: Miyi, Mount. Baipo, Qinghai-Tibet Exped. 11866 (PE), 11918 (PE). Muli, Qinghai-Tibet Exped. 13329 (PE). Yanyuan, Bailing, Qinghai-Tibet Exped. 12871 (PE). Yunnan: Cheli, C. W. Wang 77991 (PE). Deqin, Huanfuping, C. W. Wang 69224 (PE). Lijiang C. W. Wang 65037 (PE), 71441 (PE). Weixi, Kangpu, C. W. Wang 64374 (PE). Zhongdian, Chungjianghe valley, B. Aldén & al. 1496 (E). Songming, Sino-Amer. Bot. Exped. 1396 (E).

Note:— Carex speciosa is widely distributed in SE Asia, and is polymorphic and badly in need of special study ( Noltie, 1993). This species has great variation in leaf width (3–10 mm) and in perigynium indumentum (sparsely pubescent on upper part to glabrescent). The inflorescence of Carex speciosa has either a solitary spike, or 2–4 spikes. Li (1999) described Carex funhuangshanica as a new species which differs from C. speciosa in having leaves 2–4 mm wide and glabrous perigynia. Morphologically, Carex funhuangshanica falls within the variation accepted by the C. speciosa description, which is why Carex funhuangshanica is reduced to synonymy.

Figures

FIGURE 4. A–C: Carex cylindriostachys Franch. (A) habit; (B) pistillate scale; (C) perigynium. D–H: Carex speciosa Kunth. (D) habit; (E) staminate scales; (F) pistillate scale; (G) perigynium; (H) achene. I, J: Carex speciosa var. courtallensis (Nees ex Boott) Kük. (I) upper part of inflorescence; (J) perigynium. (A–C drawn from Qinghai-Tibet Exped. 849 in PE, D–H from N. Wallich 3394 in K, I, J from T. T. Yu 18018 in KUN; drawn by Xiao-Feng Jin).