keys to the vascular plants of east texas - Botanical Research ...

542 CYPERACEAE/CAREX
Carex leavenworthii Dewey, (for its discoverer, Melies Conklin Leavenworth, 1796–1862, s US
botanist, explorer, and army surgeon), LEAVENWORTH’S CARIC SEDGE. Primarily a facultative
heliophyte but grows more robust in shade, primarily on Alfisols with sand or sandy loam, occasionally
on Entisols, Histosols, or Mollisols, in open mesic to submesic sites, occasionally in
wetter sites, forest edges and openings, pastures, roadsides, and lawns, appearing to do better in
recently disturbed sites as a successional species but capable of persisting; throughout East TX;
also e part of the Cross Timbers and Prairies, e part of the Edwards Plateau, ne part of the South
TX Plains and Jim Hogg Co. further s, and the Gulf Prairies and Marshes from the Coastal Bend
area northeastward; se Canada (Ont.) and e U.S. w to NE and TX also CA. Fruiting (mid-Feb–
)mid-Mar–early Jul(–late Oct). [C. cephalophora Muhl. ex Willd. var. angustifolia Boott, C.
cephalophora var. leavenworthii (Dewey) Kük.] Section Phaestoglochin
Carex leptalea Wahlenb. subsp. harperi (Fernald) W. Stone, (sp.: delicate; subsp.: for its discoverer,
Roland MacMillan Harper, 1878–1966), ROLAND HARPER’S BRISTLE-STALK CARIC SEDGE. A facultative
sciophyte found in acid seep heads, seeps, and bogs of mixed pine hardwood or hardwood
forests; probably throughout the Pineywoods, though recorded from Shelby and
Nacogdoches cos. southward, and in Wood Co. of the Post Oak Savannah; also Harris Co. in the
n Gulf Prairies and Marshes; se U.S. from PA s to FL w to MO and TX. Fruiting Apr–Jun(–Oct). [C.
harperi Fernald] Cochrane (2002b) did not recognize infraspecific taxa in this species, stating
that “because they intergrade to some degree, the modern tendency is to treat them as only extreme
phases in a wide-ranging, complex species.” Cochrane does go on to provide salient characters
for all the variants and states the most distinct variant is Carex leptalea subsp. harperi.
Given the variation pattern present, recognition at the subspecies level seems most appropriate
and is thus being done here. Section Polytrichoideae
Carex lonchocarpa Willd., (spear-fruit), SPEAR-FRUIT CARIC SEDGE, SOUTHERN LONG CARIC SEDGE.
A facultative sciophyte found in acid seep heads, seeps, bogs, wet creek bottoms, wet bottomland
hardwoods, and cypress swamp margins; Hardin, Jasper, Newton, Sabine, Shelby, and Tyler
cos. in the e Pineywoods; also Harris Co. in the n Gulf Prairies and Marshes; se U.S. from NJ s to
FL w to MO and TX. Fruiting Apr–May(–Jun). [C. folliculata L. var. australis L.H. Bailey] Section
Folliculatae
Carex longii Mack., (for Bayard Henry Long, 1885–1969, of Philadelphia), BAYARD LONG’S CARIC
SEDGE. A facultative heliophyte in open, damp or wet acidic sites, usually in sandy, or peaty
soils; throughout much of East TX except in the sw part and the extreme n; also the Gulf Prairies
and Marshes from the Coastal Bend area northeastward; se Canada and e U.S. w to WI, OK,
and TX. Fruiting May–Jul(–Nov). Section Ovales
Carex louisianica L.H. Bailey, (of Louisiana), LOUISIANA CARIC SEDGE. A facultative sciophyte but
able to withstand full sun, in swampy woods, bogs, bottomland hardwood forests, and pinelands
in acidic soils; throughout the Pineywoods, the Red River drainage, and much of the Post
Oak Savannah except for the sw part, but absent from the Blackland Prairie; also in ne part of
Gulf Prairies and Marshes; e U.S. from NJ s to FL w to IL, OK, and TX. Fruiting Apr–Aug. Section
Lupulinae m/281
Carex lupuliformis Sartwell ex Dewey, (similar in form to Carex lupulina), HOP-LIKE CARIC
SEDGE, FALSE HOP CARIC SEDGE. Primarily a heliophyte but also found in shadier conditions than
C. lupulina, in open forest swales, open ditches, and open swamps, rare though locally abundant
and forming large colonies; Bowie, Harris, Houston, Liberty, Marion, and Montgomery cos.;
also Brazoria Co. in the n Gulf Prairies and Marshes; se Canada and e U.S. w to IA, OK, and TX.
Fruiting Jun–Oct. (RARE 2002b: G3G4S1). Section Lupulinae �
Carex lupulina Muhl. ex Willd., (resembling Humulus lupulus—hops), HOP CARIC SEDGE. A facultative
heliophyte in open swamps, low woods, marshes, and open wet ditches in somewhat