Carex trifida Cav.
C. rekohu Petrie in T.N.Z.I. 56, 1926, 8.
Type locality: Falkland Is. Also recorded from Chile.
Very robust, forming dense, light green tussocks up to 60 cm. diam. Culms 15–90 cm. × 2–4 mm., trigonous with angles rounded, glab.; basal sheaths cream, grey, or yellow-brown. Lvs often overtopping the infl., 6–15 mm. wide, double-folded, with keel not very much thickened, rather soft and spreading, margins slightly scabrid with rather distant teeth; sheath only slightly broader than lamina, paler green. Spikes 6–9–(15), brown, very sturdy, 3.5–11 × 0.5–1.5 cm.; upper 2–4 spikes male, occ. with a few female fls intermingled, ± approximate, ± sessile; lower spikes female, the lowest often compound, on stout erect peduncles; bracts lf-like, > infl. Glumes > utricles, linear-oblong, or lanceolate, noticeably emarginate, membr., chestnut-brown, the pale greenish brown midrib produced to a very long hispid awn. Utricles 4.5–6 × c. 2 mm., subtrigonous, oblong-obovoid, turgid, distinctly nerved, straw-coloured to light brown tinged; abruptly narrowed to a rather shallowly bifid beak c. 1 mm. long, margins and orifice occ. slightly scabrid; much contracted to a very pale brown stipe c. 1 mm. long. Stigmas 3. Nut c. 2 mm. long, trigonous, oblong-obovoid, dark brown.
DIST.: S. Stephens Id, off D'Urville Id, and scattered localities south of lat. 45º 30'. St., Ch., Sn., Ant., A., C., M.
Us. on coastal cliffs or rock outcrops, occ. in swamp.
C. rekohu Petrie was based on one collection: WELT, 12342, 12343, Chatham Is, W. Martin, Jan., 1924.
Probably the largest of the N.Z. spp., distinguished by its very ∞, large spikes.
A chromosome count of 2n = 60 was obtained for Macquarie Id material by Moore (Bot. Notiser 113, 1960, 187).
