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

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. doi:10.2307/3392004. JSTOR 3392004.
  2. Natura Italiana Gallery
  3. Gardening Europe Archived February 28, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
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