Carex lyngbyei excluded from the flora of eastern North America, and taxonomic notes on related species and hybrids

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Botany
• Main Author: Cayouette, Jacques
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1987
• Subjects: Plant Science; Pacific; Recta; Iceland
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/b87-165; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/b87-165

Carex lyngbyei has been reported from a few stations in eastern North America over the last century. Herbarium specimens so identified from that area are morphologically very diverse and are quite different from the typical C. lyngbyei along the North Pacific coastline and Iceland. This eastern material was found to belong to four species (C. aquatilis, C. crinita var. gynandra, C. paleacea, and C. recta) and six different hybrids (C. ×saxenii, C. ×gardneri, C. ×exsalina, C. ×subnigra, C. ×super-goodenoughii, and C. ×grantii). Pollen stainability of typical C. lyngbyei and of putative C. lyngbyei from eastern North America supported these revisions: it was high in species and low in hybrids or in species of hybrid origin such as C. recta. In western North America, C. lyngbyei has either 2n = 68, 70, or 72 chromosomes and meiosis appears to be regular. In contrast, some putative C. lyngbyei from eastern Quebec showed a highly disturbed meiosis. Consequently C. lyngbyei is excluded from eastern North America.