Flora of New Zealand Series

Carex pulchella Bergg. in Minneskr. fisiogr. Sällsk. Lund 1878, Art. 8, 29, t. 7, f. 20–26 non Nyland. in Bull. Soc. Nat. Mosc. 36, 1863, 537.

C. cheesemanii Petrie in T.N.Z.I.  15,  1883,  358.

C. comans Bergg. var. pulchella (Bergg.) C. B. Clarke in Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. 1906, 829.

C. comans Bergg. var. cheesemanii (Petrie) Kük. in Pflanzenr. 38, 1909, 689.

Type locality: "in litoribus arenosis siccis prope Hokianga insulae borealis Novae Zelandiae." Type: LD, S. Berggren; isotypes at WELT and at K.

Tufts very dense, very lfy, red, or yellow-green. Culms 6–25–(40) cm. long, < 1 mm. diam., terete, glab., flaccid, occ. much elongating at maturation of fr. and drooping to the ground; basal sheaths dull brown to purple-black. Lvs us. > culms, 0.5–1–(1.5) mm. wide, drooping above, concavo-convex, adaxial surface matt, abaxial surface more deeply coloured and shining, margins scabrid, tips rarely curled. Spikes (4)–5–7–(8), linear-oblong; terminal 1–(2) spikes male, very slender; remaining spikes female occ. with a few male fls at the base, 0.5–2.5 cm. × 3–4 mm., distant, the uppermost 1–2 sessile, the lower on filiform peduncles, often drooping. Glumes (excluding awn) often slightly < utricles, ovate-lanceolate, us. emarginate to more deeply bifid at the top with a rather short scabrid awn, light brown or reddish brown with a paler midrib, membr. Utricles 2.5–3.5 × c. 1 mm., unequally biconvex to ± plano-convex, lanceolate, elliptic-lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, reddish brown, pale straw-coloured at the base, obscurely ribbed on both faces, becoming smooth when fully mature, lateral nerves us. prominent, margins of upper half sharply serrate, narrowed above to a bifid beak c. 1 mm. long, with slender scabrid crura. Stigmas 3. Nut 1.5–2 mm. long, trigonous, ovoid to oblong-ovoid, dark brown.

DIST.: N. Throughout. S. Very common but not recorded from Fiordland. St.

In pasture, in damp spots in tussock grassland, on river flats, or on track sides in forest; from sea level to 1,300 m. altitude.

C. pulchella Bergg. was described from "alpibus ad flumen Bealey insulae australis Novae Zelandiae"; type, LD, S. Berggren; isotypes at WELT and K. It is apparently only a small specimen of C. comans.

C. cheesemanii Petrie. Original localities: "Maniototo Plain, 1,000–2,000 feet; Nevis Valley, 1,500 feet." Lectotype, AK, 2781, Naseby, D. Petrie; selected by Hamlin (Rec. Dom. Mus., Wellington 6, 1968, 107). The specimen is large but well within the size range of C. comans.

C. comans forma subsessilis Kük. in Carse in T.N.Z.I. 48, 1916, 241 was described as "spiculis inferioribus breviter pedunculatis . . . Ahipara; not common". There are 2 specimens from Ahipara in Herb. Carse: CANTY 3125, R. H. Matthews, Oct. 1899, "in flower" and CANTY 3127, H. Carse, Jan., 1915, "in fruit"; both appear to be normal C. comans. Neither specimen was labelled forma subsessilis and no specimens so labelled have been found.

A very distinct sp. recognised by its dense tufts, narrow, concavo-convex lvs, slender light brown pedunculate spikes and the sharply toothed utricle-beaks with long crura.