Section HYMENOCHLAENAE
Section HYMENOCHLAENAE is represented by six species in Renfrew County.
- Carex gracillima
- Carex arctata
- Carex debilis var. rudgei
- Carex prasina
- Carex castanea
- Carex sprengelii
C. gracillima, C. arctata and C. debilis are superficially very similar having long lax culms with pedunculate pistillate spikes. Close examination of the perigynia easily separate these three species (see Figure 1). A second distinguishing characteristic is the terminal spikelet: C. gracillima is almost always gynecandrous, C. arctata is almost always purely staminate and C. debilis is gynecandrous in 20% of the cases I have seen and purely staminate in the remaining 80%.
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Figure 1. Pistillate spikes of Carex debilis, Carex arctata and Carex gracillima.