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RHODORA, Vol. 106, No. 927, 287-290, 2004 pp. NEW ENGLAND NOTE RECORDS FOR CAREX ROSTRATA (CYPERACEAE) NEW ENGLAND IN Arthur Haines MA New Hemenway England Wild Flower Society, 180 Rd., Framingham, 01701 [email protected]; e-mail: Andrew Cutko Maine Natural Areas Program, State House Station 93, ME 04333 Aueusta, Dan Sperduto New Hampshire Natural Heritage Bureau and The Nature Conservancy, NH Box Concord, 03302 P.O. 1856, Carex Stokes circumboreal, hydrophytic sedge primarily rostrata a is Canada North America. limited conterminous United restricted to in Its States distribution includes the Great Lakes region and northwestern (Kartesz 1999; Reznicek and Ford 2002). Carex rostrata has states largely been treated as including C. utriculata Boott in Hook, by Seymour American authors. Fernald (1950) and (1982) provided infraspecific names for these taxa; however, the characters used in some these and other treatments were inadequate to distinguish material. New As a result, many England collections were identified only to the name level of species (using the C. rostrata). This has created a situa- name tion in which the C. rostrata has been misapplied to collections of C. utriculata. Further, C. rostrata has been summarily excluded from New England by works covering region (Gleason and recent this Cronquist 1991; Kartesz 1999), though no systematic herbarium surveys have been performed to verify the presence or absence of this sedge in the northeastern United States. This note presents the results of recent field and herbarium surveys that have resulted in the discovery of four New England. stations for C. rostrata in northern morphology Carex and rostrata C. utriculata differ substantially in leaf and anatomy (Reznicek and Ford 2002). However, some of the distinc- tions can be obscured on dried herbarium specimens (e.g., leaf color, on leaf cross-sectional shape). Therefore, confident determinations rely 287 288 Rhodora [Vol. 106 presence/absence of papillae and stomate distribution on the leaves, features that require magnification to observe. These facts are likely, in C part, responsible for the absence of previous reports of true ro strata New As in England. previously noted, C. rostrata was excluded from New England when became customary recognize narrow to in the it it sense as separate from C. utriculata; Gleason and Cronquist 1991; (i.e., Kartesz 1999). New The confirmed Carex England was first location for rostrata in Mark Ward discovered by the second author and during surveys of field J. D. Irving property northern Maine. The sedge was located in in a backwater slough of the Big Black River, a tributary of the John St. T14 R WELS. The River, in 6 section of the Big Black River that harbored 1 C. rostrata slow, tannic, and meandering with numerous oxbows is that demonstrate fairly distinct zones of vegetation reflecting the degree of annual flooding. Carex rostrata occurred adjacent an open pool within to mixed graminoid-shrub marsh community. a Associated plant species included C. stricta, C. utriculata, C. vesicaria, Sagittaria latifolia, S. cuneata, Scirpus atrocinctus, S. cyperinus, and Myrica gale. WELS, Specimen citation: Maine: Aroostook Co.. T14 R16 Bis Black River u.s.a. oxbows, backwater emergent marsh w/ Carex and stricta. C. vesicaria. C. ntriculata. Aug & Ward Calamagrostis canadensis, 22 2002, A. Cutko M. (maine, mich). s.n. After learning of the discovery of Carex rostrata Maine, the in first museums author undertook herbarium surveys regional an in in effort to locate additional voucher specimens. This work was performed as part of the Herbarium Recovery Project, a two-year research project New administered by England Wild Flower examined the Society that known herbarium records of rare and/or poorly native tracheophytes New New England. Specimens from England in northern labeled as C. rostrata and C. utriculata were examined from gh, maine, nebc, nha, As common New and vt. C. utriculata a relatively sedge England, is in the herbarium surveys involved sorting through hundreds o( specimens. — Three collections of Carex rostrata were located two from Maine and New one from Hampshire. The were confirmed by Anton identifications Reznicek (University of Michigan). Mud Specimen citation: u.s.a. Maine: Aroostook Co., Ashland, Pond, 17 Jul 1935, & Chamberlain Delano S36 Aug G. R. (nebc): Piscataquis Co. Spencer Pond, 1871, New Parlin s.n. (nebc). Hampshire: Coos Co., Pittsburg, Fourth Connecticut Lake, 9 Hodgdon Jul 1966, A. 15005 (nha). el at. New England Note 289 2004| New Upon notification of a confirmed record of Carex rostrata in from Hampshire, the third author reexamined sedge collections field He surveys he had performed in the northern part of the state. discovered a potential specimen of C. rostrata from Fourth Connecticut Lake, the of Hodgdon's collection 23 years earlier. The specimen was site who examined by author agreed with the determination the initial first that the collection was true C. rostrata). Neither of the historical (i.e., Maine have been determine those populations locations revisited to if of C. rostrata are extant. still pond Lake along Fourth Connecticut high-elevation tarn the a is Canadian border Pittsburg the source of the Connecticut River in at (elevation 814 m). Carex rostrata was associated with acid to circum- and marshy emergent border vegetation surrounding the pond. neutral fen mud-bottom (pH 4.6- The fen consisted of floating mat (pH 5.5-6.2) and Sphagnum dominated by dwarf shrubs, sedges, and mosses. habitats 5.0) Common Chamaedaphne Carex tracheophytes included calyculata, lasiocarpa, C. oligosperma, C. canescens, C. magellanica subsp. irrigua, Triadenum virginicum, and Rhynchospora alba. Less frequent species Menyanthes Rhododendron groenlandicum, Erio- included trifoliata, phorum Drosera virginicum, Utricularia cornuta, rotundifolia var. Dulichium arundinaceum, Juncus pelocarpus, Sarracenia rotundifolia, Kalmia purpurea, Carex Lysimachia and polifolia. stricta, terrestris, Marshy border areas contained Gentiana linearis, Eleocharis palustris, Comarum Nuphar palustre, variegata, and Sagittaria latifolia. New Specimen citation: Hampshire: Coos Co., Pittsburg, Fourth u.s.a. Connecticut Lake, 27 1989. D. Sperduto 151 (nha). Jul New Carex rostrata appears to be rare and local in England, with the of northern species of Carex the southern sparse distribution typical at known However, of range (Reznicek 1989). collections are limit their may from relatively unspecialized habitats, suggesting this sedge be narrow discovered additional locations. Carex rostrata has relatively in mm mostly than 4.5 wide with dense and minute papillae leaves, less 20X (view or higher magnification) on the adaxial surface of the leaf at blades. The stomata are usually found only on the adaxial surface (rarely 40- some view some scattered on the abaxial surface in individuals; at 50X Anton Reznicek, comm.). The leaf blades are magnification; pers. Carex white-green adaxially and U-shaped cross-section. utriculata, in more on other hand, marked by relatively wide leaves mostly than the is mm Rare 4.5 wide that are usually smooth on the adaxial surface. 290 Rhodora [Vol. 106 specimens will have one or more leaves covered adaxially with tiny scabrules, which provide a rough texture to the leaf. The scabrules are 10X easily visible magnification and are more sparsely distributed at Car than the papillae of C. rostrata. ex utriculata further characterized is by flat or V-shaped, green leaves with stomates distributed only on the abaxial surface. New acknowledgments. The England Wild Flower Society is thanked for permission to use data gathered during the Herbarium Recovery Project. Garrett Crow, Kassandra Jahr, Anton Reznicek, and Wood Emily are thanked for their assistance with research. Thanks this also to Stephanie Neid and Ben Kimball for supplemental descriptive information on Fourth Connecticut Lake. LITERATURE CITED Fernald, M. Manual Von L. 1950. Gray's of Botany, 8th ed. Nostrand Reinhold Co., New York. Gleason, and H. A. A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern New United Slates and Adjacent Canada, 2nd ed. The York Botanical Garden, NY. Bronx, A Kartesz, Synonymized J. T. 1999. Checklist and Atlas with Biological Attributes for the Vascular Flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. ed. 1st In: J. T. Kartesz and C. A. Meacham, Synthesis of the North American Flora, version North Carolina Botanical Garden. Chapel NC. 1.0. Hill, New Reznicek, A. A. 1989. England Carex (Cyperaceae): Taxonomic problems and phytogeographical considerations. Rhodora 144-152. 91: and B. A. Ford. 2002. Carex section Vesicariae, 501-511. Flora pp. In: of North America Editorial Committee, eds.. Flora of North America North of Mexico, Vol. Magnoliophyta: Commclinidae 23. Cyperaceae. (in part): New Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford and York. New Seymour, F. C. 1982. Flora of England, 2nd ed. Phytologia Memoirs V. NJ. Plainfield,