2022 Volume 73 Issue 2 Pages 107-118
A new species of Carex sect. Paniceae (Cyperaceae) is described based on specimens from Honshu, Japan, and named C. nasuensis. It is similar to C. filipes and C. macroglossa, but differs from C. filipes in having pale green staminate scales, pale brown basal part of the sheath and perigynia tapering to the apex, and from C. macroglossa in having fewer (2–4) perigynia per pistillate spike, pistillate spikes more distantly located on the culm (3.6–7.5 cm between the uppermost and second uppermost pistillate spikes), flat or slightly elevated surface of the epidermal cells of the perigynium (without any conspicuous projections) and an achene epidermal cell surface with a small conical silica deposit surrounded by a marginal depression. A phylogenetic analysis based on the combined data set of plastid regions atpB–rbcL, rpl16–rpl16–rps3, rps16, matK and trnL–trnL–trnF and nuclear regions ITS and ETS (p = 0.41 in ILD test) indicated that C. nasuensis was distinct from both C. filipes and C. macroglossa, supporting the recognition of C. nasuensis as an independent species.
