Carex pulicaris

Carex pulicaris, the flea sedge, is a species of sedge in the genus Carex native to Europe.

Carex pulicaris
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Cyperaceae
Genus: Carex
Subgenus: Carex subg. Psyllophora
Section: Carex sect. Unciniiformes
Species:
C. pulicaris
Binomial name
Carex pulicaris
Synonyms
  • Carex psyllophora L.f.
  • Caricinella pulicaris (L.) St.-Lag.
  • Psyllophora pulicaris (L.) Schur
  • Psyllophora puliciformis Montandon
  • Psyllophora vulgaris Heuff.
  • Vignea pulicaris (L.) Rchb.

Description

Carex pulicaris is a small sedge, with stiff stems 10–30 centimetres (4–12 in) tall.[1] The leaves are 5–25 cm (2–10 in) long and less than 1 millimetre (0.04 in) wide.[1] The inflorescence comprises a single spike, with 3–10 female flowers towards the base, and male flowers towards the tip.[1][2] As the utricles mature, they bend away from the spike axis and become sensitive to touch; the way the seeds appear to jump from the stem gives rise to the plant's vernacular name.[1] Before the utricles have become deflexed, C. pulicaris closely resembles C. rupestris, with which it often grows.[1] It may also be confused with C. pauciflora, which usually bears only 2–3 fruit per stem.[2]

Distribution and ecology

Carex pulicaris is found across much of Europe, from Spain to Estonia and north to Iceland and Fennoscandia, but excluding the Mediterranean region.[3] It grows in a variety of wet habitats, including bogs, fens and wet flushes.[4]

Taxonomy

Carex pulicaris was first described in Carl Linnaeus in his 1753 work Species Plantarum. It is not known to hybridise with any other species.[1]

References
  1. A. C. Jermy; D. A. Simpson; M. J. Y. Foley; M. S. Porter (2007). "Carex pulicaris L.". Sedges of the British Isles. BSBI Handbook No. 1 (3rd ed.). Botanical Society of the British Isles. pp. 512–514. ISBN 978-0-901158-35-2.
  2. Carl Farmer. "Flea sedge, Carex pulicaris". West Highland Flora. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  3. "Loppstarr, Carex pulicaris L." Den virtuella floran. Naturhistoriska riksmuseet. 25 August 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  4. Clive A. Stace (2010). "Carex L. – sedges". New Flora of the British Isles (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 951–974. ISBN 978-0-521-70772-5.
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