Carex berggrenii Petrie
Type locality: Mount Pisa Range. Type: WELT, 11974, D. Petrie; isotypes at AK and CANU.
Shortly rhizomatous; tufts small, broad, dull red or glaucous. Culms (1.5)–2–3 cm. long, glab., terete, ± flattened above, almost completely enclosed by light brown lf-sheaths. Lvs 3–6 cm. × 1–2.5 mm., linear, concavo-convex, almost flat, nerves very distinct, margins not us. scabrid except towards the strikingly obtuse tip. Spikes 3–(4); terminal spike male, noticeably pedunculate; remaining spikes female, 5–8 mm. long, ovate, sessile or shortly pedunculate, crowded at same level round base of male spike; bracts subtending spikes lf-like, > infl. Glumes rather < utricles, ovate, cuspidate, or entire and obtuse, membr., red-brown, with a paler brown midrib. Utricles 2–3 × c. 1.5 mm., biconvex to occ. subtrigonous, elliptic-oblong, turgid, red-brown to dark red-purple above, yellow below, distinctly nerved at first, smooth at maturity, margins glab.; beak minute, the scabrid orifice very shortly bifid, almost truncate; stipe c. 0.2 mm. long, stout. Stigmas 2 or 3. Nut c. 1.5 mm. long, trigonous.
DIST.: S. Throughout but not recorded from Marlborough and rare in West-land.
In boggy ground or on damp river flats or lake shores from 300–1,500 m. altitude.
AK 2691 "tarns near Richmond Station, Lake Tekapo" A. Wall, April 1920, has elongated culms to 6 cm. long.
The concavo-convex, almost flat lvs with the strikingly obtuse tip make this a very distinct sp.
