Carex trichodes Steudel ex Boott (1867: 144

Penneckamp, Diego N., 2022, Identity of Carex trichodes Steud. ex Boott and Carex lateriflora Phil. (subgen. Psyllophorae, sect. Junciformes, Cyperaceae) from Southern South America, Phytotaxa 530 (2), pp. 230-236 : 232-235

Carex trichodes Steudel ex Boott (1867: 144 ,

Tab. CCCCLXIV).

Type:— CHILE. Los Ríos Region: Ranco Province, ad scaturigines Sichahue , Cordillera de Ranco , December 1854, W. Lechler 3055 (lectotype designated by Wheleer (1989) K000584709 digital image!, isolectotypes: G00098278 digital image!, G00098279 digital image!, LE00000790 digital image!, MO2480211, P00317649 digital image!, P00317650 digital image!, P00317651 digital image!, S07-12259 digital image!)

= Carex lateriflora Philippi (1896: 488) . Type:— CHILE. Maule Region: Curicó Province , Cordillera de los Andes, 1892, M. Vidal s.n. (holotype SGO 46165 digital image!). Syn. nov.

= Carex trichodes Steudel ex Boott var. major Kükenthal (1899: 496) . Type:— CHILE. Maule Region: Curicó Province , Cordillera de los Andes, 1892, M. Vidal s.n. (lectotype here designated: SGO 46165 digital image!).

= Carex trichodes Steudel ex Boott var. lateriflora (Philippi) Kükenthal (1909: 99) .

- Carex involucrata Steudel in Lechler (1857: 52), nom. nud., nec Boott (1860: 76) et nec Boeckeler (1875: 58).

- Carex trichodes Steudel in Lechler (1857: 52), nom. nud.

Description: Plants laxly caespitose, forming loose clumps; rhizomes short to elongate, slender (0.4–1 mm thick), ferruginous. Fertile culms 2.5–30 cm × 0.2–0.8 mm, capillaceous, declining to erect, straight or slightly curved, shorter to longer than the leaves, obscurely trigonous, striate, smooth; basal sheaths glabrous, castaneous to ferruginous basal sheaths. Leaves on fertile culms (3)5, mostly basal; blades 1–16 cm long × 0.2–0.7 mm wide, capillaceous, erect or somewhat spreading, canaliculate to convolute proximally, more or less flattened distally, glabrous, the margins smooth or sparsely scabrid, the tips obtuse, cartilaginous, pale yellow to dark brown or yellowish brown; leaf sheaths less than 15 mm long, glabrous, pale brown to ferruginous, inner band of sheaths hyaline or pale brown, glabrous, the apex concave; ligules very short (less than 0.5 mm long), broadly triangular, slightly wider than long; vegetative shoots 6–20 cm tall, pseudoculms 2–4 cm tall, with 3–5 leaves similar to those of fertile culms. Inflorescence: a single, terminal (but appearing lateral when the outermost pistillate scale is erect), androgynous spike, 3.5–7 mm long × 4–7 mm wide; sterile bracts absent. Staminate part 3–4–flowered, somewhat inconspicuous and concealed by the female part; glumes 1.4–4.6 mm long × 0.4–1.5 mm wide, glabrous, ovate to lanceolate, acute to acuminate, but sometimes with a short mucro, castaneous to ferruginous, with yellowish green or stramineous 3–veined midrib, usually persistent and often the only scales present on mature plants. Pistillate part (3–)4–6(–8) flowered, the ripe utricles somewhat ascending to widely spreading; scales caducous, falling early, glabrous, castaneous or ferruginous, usually with narrow hyaline margins, sometimes absent, and with a yellowish green or stramineous 3-5-veined midrib; proximal-most glume elongate and bract-like, the body 2.4–6 mm long × 0.8–2 mm wide, ovate to lanceolate, with a smooth or scaberulent, capillaceous awn to 2.5–5 mm long, usually appearing a continuation of the culm; distal glumes 2–4.6 mm long × 0.8–1.2 mm wide, ovate to lanceolate, or with a scabrid awn 0.1–2 mm long, the second most-proximal one with a capillaceous awn up to 2.5 mm long, the rest acute. Utricles 2.5–5.4 mm long × 1–2.8 mm wide, ovate to ovate–elliptic in outline, the body broadly elliptic to suborbicular, plano-convex, subcoriaceous, glabrous, stramineous to pale greenish brown, with two prominent veins and the rest obscure, short–stipitate, with a stipe less than 0.8 mm long, more or less abruptly contracted into a beak; beak 0.6–1.5 mm long, stramineous, but often ferruginous distally, especially near the orifice, the margins sparingly scaberulent to scaberulent, the apex obliquely cut dorsally, bidentulate, often hyaline–tipped. Achenes 1.5–3 mm long × 1–2.6 mm wide, lenticular, with obovate to oval to broadly elliptic to suborbicular sides, apiculate, subsessile to sessile, stramineous when immature, pale yellow to pale greenish brown at maturity. Rachilla contained within the utricle, much shorter than the achene to equaling or more often exceeding the achene, setaceous, broadly linear, 0.3–4 mm long × 0.4–0.7 mm wide, 1–veined, smooth or ciliolate to ciliate at least above the middle. Stigmas 2. Anthers 3, ca. 0.6–1.4 mm long.

This description is based on measurements and the combined descriptions of C. trichodes and C. lateriflora from Wheeler (1989).

Ecology and distribution: Carex trichodes is distributed in central-southern Chile, from the Andes of Maule Region at the northern distribution area of Nothofagus pumilio forest ( San Martín et al. 1991) south to Los Lagos Region, and in Argentina in the provinces of Neuquén, Chubut and Río Negro (Wheleer 1989). It grows in the understory of Andean forests dominated by Nothofagus pumilio ( Poeppig & Endlicher 1838: 68) Krasser (1896: 161) of central-south Chile ( Amigo & Castro 2015) and forests of Araucaria araucana ( Molina 1782: 355) Koch (1873: 206) and Nothofagus pumilio ( Oberdorfer 1960) , found in conditions of partial shade and moist substrate ( Figure 3 ). It is found in partial shade and humid substrate, associated with the muscinal stratum as well as on humid rocky slopes. Based on the “vegetation floor classes” scheme of Luebert & Pliscoff (2017), C. trichodes occurs in these communities: “ Andean temperate deciduous forest of Nothofagus pumilio-Drimys andina ”, “ Andean temperate deciduous forest of Nothofagus pumilio-Araucaria araucana ”, “ Andean temperate deciduous forest of Nothofagus pumilio-Ribes cucullatum ”, “ Nothofagus pumilio deciduous forest ” and “ Mediterranean-temperate Andean resinous forest of Araucaria araucana-Festuca scabriuscula ”. Complete references to species of Carex sect. Junciformes and their participation in the forest vegetation of southern South America, especially forests dominated by Nothofagus pumilio are given by Amigo & Castro (2015). These authors analyze phytosociological works in which C. trichodes , C. lateriflora and related species are cited, clarifying confusion regarding identification but following Wheleer (1989) treating C. trichodes and C. lateriflora as distinct species.

Notes: Carex reicheana Boeckeler (1896: 173) . Type:— CHILE. Biobío Region, Arauco Province: in locis altissimis Cordillera de Nahuelbuta, Reiche s.n. (holotype: B, destroyed). This name was treated by Kükenthal (1909: 99) under C. trichodes var. lateriflora and Léveillé (1915: 99) followed Kükenthal (1909) criteria.According to Wheleer (1989) this name corresponds to a synonym of C. lateriflora : “ I have not seen a duplicate of Reiche’s collection, but Boeckeler’s description of C. reicheana fits very closely the features of C. lateriflora ”. However, since the type is destroyed after WWII, it is better to look for material from the type locality to compare it with C. trichodes samples and with the original description. Nahuelbuta Mountains would correspond to a geographically isolated population located in the Coastal range, meanwhile the main distribution of C. trichodes occurs in the Andean range, separated by a remarkable distance. However, a very similar vegetation occurs in this area of Araucaria araucana and Nothofagus pumilio forest ( Donoso 1981), typical habitat of C. trichodes . Accordingly we refuse to designate a neotype until fieldwork is able to confirm the identity of the plants from Nahuelbuta Mountains .

The identity of the nom. nud. Carex involucrata Steudel as referring to C. lateriflora is based on the finding of vouchers bearing that name ( CHILE. Los Ríos Region: Ranco Province, Cordillera de Ranco , December 1854, Lechler 2975; G, K000584708 digital image!, P00317653 digital image!, P00317654 digital image!, P00317655 digital image!, UPS).

Additional specimens examined:— CHILE. Los Ríos Region, Ranco Province: Cordillera del Caulle, 1366 m, 40°25’29.93”S 72°18’54.42”W, 16 April 2021, D. Penneckamp & H. Lobos 603 (SGO); Cordillera del Caulle , 1330 m, 40°25’17.81”S 72°19’18.89”W, 16 April 2021, D. Penneckamp & H. Lobos 604 (SGO); Cordillera del Caulle , 1300 m, 40°25’9.49”S 72°19’30.75”W, 16 April 2021, D. Penneckamp & H. Lobos 605 (SGO); Cordillera del Caulle , 1250 m, 40°25’3.30”S 72°19’41.51”W, 16 April 2021, D. Penneckamp & H. Lobos 607 (SGO). Plants cultivated ex situ: Los Ríos Region: Ranco Province, Pitriuco, 40°16’34.50”S 72°37’14.28”W, 192 m, 05 January 2019, (living plant collected in Cordillera del Caulle , 1200 m, 40°16’35.00’’S 72°37’13.75’’W), D. Penneckamp s.n. (UPOS); 26 February 2021, D. Penneckamp 571 (SGO) .

Relevant literature: Boeckeler 1875: 29, Kükenthal 1899: 496, Kükenthal 1909: 99, Léveillé 1915: 99, Barros 1947: 399, Wheleer 1989: 184, 186.

Figures

FIGURE 3. A and B: understory of Nothofagus pumilio forest, typical habitat of Carex trichodes, C: detail of spike of C. trichodes and D: senescent mature plant of C. trichodes