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Species of Carex are typically tufted appearing perennials with trigonous culms bearing an inflorescences of unisexual flowers; that is, some flowers will be male (staminate) and others female (pistillate). These sedges may have stolons, rhizomes, or short rootstocks. The genus is defined by the presence of a sac-like bract called a perigynium (or utricle) that, in most species, completely surrounds the female flower. This bract falls with the fruit and its characteristics are important to identification of the Carex plant. Without access to magnification of the florets, identifying a Carex plant to species is unlikely (as would be the case with most sedges and grasses—just a warning). However, in some cases, the arrangement of the staminate and pistillate flowers may be sufficient. Familiar, may be the Hawai‘i endemic, Carex wahuensis, owing to increasing popularity as an ornamental tolerant of shade and drought.
Carex is the largest genus in the Family Cyperaceae, with some 2000 species known worldwide. In the Hawaiian Islands, Wagner, Herbst & Sohmer (1990) list 8 native species of Carex; Imada (2019) adds another two naturalized species. Only two species (C. echinata and C. longii) are common in wetlands (Erickson & Puttock, 2006). Others occur in a wide range of environments. Raulerson (2006) and Stone (1970) list only Carex fuirenoides (a synonym of C. indica) found on Guam or, indeed, anywhere in the Marianas.
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