Flora of New Zealand Series

C. vulgaris var. gaudichaudiana (Kunth) Boott Ill. Car. 4, 1867, 169, t. 567.

Original locality: "Nova Hollandia." Type: ? "Gaudichaud legit". Also recorded from New Guinea.

Rhizome ascending; tufts flaccid. Rhizomes 1.5–2 mm. diam., often long-creeping. Culms variable in size, (2)–6–32 cm. × 0.3–1 mm., trigonous, almost glab., but often slightly scabrid just below the infl.; basal sheaths light brown or grey-brown. Lvs ∞, < or us. > culms, (0.5)–1–2.5 mm. wide, double-folded, grasslike, keel, margins and nerves on adaxial surface slightly scabrid towards tip. Infl. of 3–5 spikes, ± approximate, us. sessile; uppermost spike male, occ. compound with a smaller male spike near its base; lower spikes female, often male at the top, 0.5–1.5–(2) cm. × 2–5 mm., us. < male spikes. Glumes < utricles, ovate, subacute, dark brown to almost black, coriac., midrib narrow to broad, green, scarcely reaching tip of glume. Utricles 2.5–4 × 1.5–2 mm., narrow-ovoid to orbicular-ovoid, gradually tapering above, much compressed, green with minute red-brown spots when mature, conspicuously nerved, margins smooth; beak almost wanting, orifice entire or minutely bidentate; stipe < 0.5 mm. long. Stigmas 2. Nut 1.5–2 mm. long, biconvex, orbicular-ovoid, dull grey.

DIST.: N. Scattered throughout, common in the Waikato. S. Throughout.

In boggy ground from sea level to 1,800 m. altitude.

C. gaudichaudiana var. humilior Kük. in Pflanzenr. 38, 1909, 313, was described as "Culmus humilis saepe curvatus. Spiculae omnes approximatae breves oblongo-ovatae. Utriculi latiores ovati". Kükenthal gave the distribution as New South Wales, Tasmania and N.Z. and cited for N.Z. "Canterbury, (Cockayne n. 15371, 15941) und Nelson, (Cheeseman!)." Cockayne's 2 gatherings are represented at WELT and there is a specimen of Cheeseman's from Mt Arthur at AK. All 3 are acceptable as C. gaudichaudiana and some equally small specimens have been collected in scattered localities throughout the country. However, the difference in size is sufficiently great for the small forms to be regarded as distinct if some ecological basis were found for their distribution.

C. gaudichaudiana may be distinguished from C. sinclairii and C. subdola by the narrower lvs and sessile spikes; the three spp. differ from other N.Z. spp. of Carex in having the following combination of characters─utricles scarcely beaked, 2 style-branches, and spikes borne singly on the culm.