Flora of New Zealand Series

C. uncifolia Cheesem. var. libera Kük. in Pflanzenr. 38, 1909, 685.

Type locality: Mt Arthur Plateau, Nelson, 4,000 ft. Type: AK, 2703, T. F. Cheeseman, Jan., 1886; isotypes at WELT and CHR.

Shortly rhizomatous; tufts ± distant, dingy reddish green. Culms (1)–2.5–8 cm. × c. 1 mm., cylindrical, glab.; shorter culms almost hidden by brownish lf-sheaths. Lvs > culms, up to 25 cm. long and 0.5–1 mm. wide, spreading, but not drooping, concavo-convex, paler on the adaxial surface, margins finely scabrid towards the tip. Infl. of 3–5 spikes, all sessile and close-packed; terminal spike male, erect, us. reddish brown, glumes awned. Female spikes 0.5–1 cm. × 3–4 mm., ovoid, reddish green to brownish; subtending bracts ∞, lf-like; glumes (excluding awn) us. slightly < utricles, ovate, us. emarginate and cuspidate, reddish brown with a thicker green midrib, or more uniformly red-brown. Utricles (2)–2.4–3 × 1–1.5 mm., plano-convex, ovoid-ellipsoid, light grey-green or yellow-brown towards the base, spotted with red or dark red-purple in large patches towards the top, nerves ± distinct, whitish; beak very short, up to 0.5 mm. long, slightly narrowed, often spotted red-purple, margins glab., orifice very shortly bidentate, almost truncate, scabrid; stipe minute, not much narrower than utricle. Stigmas 3. Nut c. 1 × 1 mm., obovoid, trigonous with rounded angles, dark brown when mature.

DIST.: S. Nelson.

Mountains from 800–1,400 m. altitude, us. on margins of tarns.

C. libera is closely related to C. edgarae, C. filamentosa and C. uncifolia. All are rhizomatous with reddish lvs and approximate spikes. The lvs of C. libera and C. edgarae are concavo-convex and > 0.5 mm. wide and the utricles are scarcely beaked, while in C. filamentosa and C. uncifolia the lvs are plano-convex and the utricles distinctly beaked. C. libera is distinct from C. edgarae in having red-tipped utricles in contrast to the almost black-tipped utricles of the other sp.; the female glumes are almost = utricle in C. libera but in C. edgarae they are c. ½ the length of the utricle; the male glumes in C. libera are us. reddish brown and awned while they are creamy brown and us. entire in C. edgarae.