NPSpecies

Data Source: Lea, 2000

Data Source: Helen Hamilton

See comments; Data Source: Lea, 2000

Park Species Detail: Lea, 2000: Carex digitalis Willdenow var. macropoda Fernald (Southern Slender Wood Sedge)Rare. In rich, dry forests. Found on Bear and Vaso Islands, and in ravine of Cabin John Creek. This is the dominant form of C. digitalis on the Coastal Plain to the south of Maryland and reaches its apparent northern limit in the Maryland, where, contrary to Brown and Brown (1984), it is much less common than var. digitalis. It is distinguished from var. digitalis primarily by its long-peduncled spikes; we have not noted the coralline-knotty rhizomes described by Femald (1950). In Maryland and in the Gorge, it appears to prefer more basic soils than typical C. digitalis and may be an indicator of mafic substrates. Although often easily separable from var. digitalis, intermediate forms occur, and its taxonomic distinctiveness has been questioned (e.g., Manhart, 1986). This is the first report of the taxon from Montgomery County and from the Potomac Gorge. Early May to mid-June. 439, 1065 (Tawes)., Park Species Data Source: Lea, 2000