Carex mckittrickensis

Carex mckittrickensis, the Guadalupe Mountain sedge, is a species of sedge endemic to Guadalupe Mountains National Park in western Texas. It occurs on the sides of steep ravines and also in riparian forests.[1][2]

Carex mckittrickensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Cyperaceae
Genus: Carex
Subgenus: Carex subg. Carex
Section: Carex sect. Albae
Species:
C. mckittrickensis
Binomial name
Carex mckittrickensis
P.W.Ball

Description

Carex mckittrickensis is an herb up to 35 centimetres (14 in) tall, spreading by means of underground rhizomes. Its stems are round in cross-section and covered with reddish-brown leaf sheaths toward the base. Its leaves are thread-like, up to 17 cm (6.7 in) long and less than 1 cm (0.39 in) across. Staminate (male) flowering spikes form at the top of the plant, with pistillate (female) spikes in axils of the leaves.[1][3]

Taxonomy

Carex mckittrickensis is very closely related to the widespread Carex eburnea, but differs in the large size of many of its floral parts.[1] It was described in 1998 by Peter W. Ball of the University of Toronto, and named after McKittrick Canyon in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park.[1]

References
  1. Peter William Ball (1998). "Carex mckittrickensis (Cyperaceae), a new species from western Texas". Novon. 8: 220–224.
  2. Natura Italiana Gallery
  3. Gardening Europe Archived February 28, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
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