Cyperaceae
Carex

Carex acutiformis Ehrh.

First published in Beitr. Naturk. Verw. Wiss. 4: 43 (1789)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Europe, Medit. to W. Himalaya, Eritrea to S. Africa. It is a perennial and grows primarily in the temperate biome.

Descriptions

Cyperaceae, K Hoenselaar, B. Verdcourt & H. Beentje. Hypolytrum, D Simpson. Fuirena, M Muasya. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 2010

Type
Type: Germany, Brunswig-Luneburg, Ehrhardt s.n. (MW?, holo.)
Morphology General Habit
Tufted sedge 0.9–1.2(–1.7) m tall.
Morphology Stem
Stems ± scabrid with thick short scaly stolons
Morphology Leaves
Leaf sheaths long, green or straw coloured or basal one sometime reddish Leaves up to 8 cm long, 6–8(–12) mm wide, plicate with distinctly scabrid margins.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence bracts with a dark brown rim opposite the blade Lower spikes entirely female and some intermediate ones half of each. Upper 2–3 spikes male with a few basal female flowers. Inflorescence of 5–8 erect or drooping spikes 1.5–10.5 cm long, 4–5 mm wide, arising singly, the upper ± sessile, the lowest with peduncles 5–20 cm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Glume
Glumes dark brown with pale brown edges and midrib, 3–4 mm long (the basal ones 6–7 mm long including a 2 mm long awn) acute or acuminate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Utricles brownish with blackish raised dots, 3–4 mm long including a very short beak with very short apical teeth), densely papillate.
Ecology
Swamps and seepage bog; 2250–3000 m
Note
Gordon-Gray does not mention papillation of the utricles; she points out that some flowers can have 2-branched styles. The papillation does not occur throughout the wide distribution but some English specimens do show traces of it. Jermy & Tutin do not mention it. Material from T 7, Udzungwa Mts named C. acutiformis is not correctly named. The utricle beak is too long and has distinct teeth and the utricle is not papillate.
Distribution
Range: N & South Africa; Europe, Asia, N America Flora districts: U2 T2
[FTEA]

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/164058/84269491

Conservation
LC - least concern
[IUCN]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • IUCN Categories

    • IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images