Carex alba Scop.

Laîche blanche (fr)

Species

Angiosperms > Poales > Cyperaceae > Carex

Characteristics

Rhizome stoloniferous. Culms tufted, 15-30 cm tall, rather slender, obtusely trigonous, smooth; sheaths leafless at base. Leaves rather shorter than culm, blades flat, ca. 1 mm wide, eventually involute on margins, soft, brown sheathed at base. Involucral bracts brown-green, sheathlike, ca. 1 cm, hyaline on margins, without involucral bract leaf. Spikes usually 3, rarely 2 or 4, slightly approximate; terminal spike male, usually not surpassing adjacent female spike, linear, 1-1.5 cm; lateral spikes usually 2, rarely 1 or 3, female, oblong or subovate, 5-10 mm, loosely 2-6-flowered, peduncles slender. Female glumes stramineous or yellow-brownish, broadly ovate, ca. 3 mm, membranous, not hyaline margined, green 1-veined, apex acute. Utricles yellow-green, brownish yellow at maturity, obliquely patent, slightly longer than glume, broadly obovate or elliptic-obovate, obtusely trigonous, 3.5-4 mm, leathery, glabrous, shiny, several slightly concave veined, base obtusely rounded, margins hyaline, apex contracted into a short beak, orifice obliquely truncate. Nutlets dark brown, tightly enveloped in utricle, obovate-elliptic, trigonous, ca. 2.5 mm, brownish yellow and slightly convex on angles, tuberculate on surface; style base thickened and globose; stigmas 3. Fl. and fr. Jun-Jul.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality monoecy
Pollination anemogamy
Spread barochory
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 0.15 - 0.3
Root system rhizome
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
Fruiting months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

Light 1-5
Soil humidity 1-4
Soil texture 3-4
Soil acidity 8-9
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 5-8

Usage

Uses -
Edible -
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by divisions.
Mode divisions
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -23
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Habit

Carex alba habit picture by Yoan MARTIN (cc-by-sa)
Carex alba habit picture by Yoan MARTIN (cc-by-sa)
Carex alba habit picture by Yoan MARTIN (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Carex alba leaf picture by Andreas Grindler (cc-by-sa)
Carex alba leaf picture by Marc Sommer (cc-by-sa)
Carex alba leaf picture by claude lerat -gentet Mme (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Carex alba flower picture by Kabilan Nadarajah (cc-by-sa)
Carex alba flower picture by S. Katharina (cc-by-sa)
Carex alba flower picture by Christophe Maheu (cc-by-sa)

Fruit

Carex alba fruit picture by Yoan MARTIN (cc-by-sa)
Carex alba fruit picture by Yoan MARTIN (cc-by-sa)
Carex alba fruit picture by Yoan MARTIN (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Carex alba world distribution map, present in Austria, Switzerland, China, Czech Republic, Germany, Spain, France, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, and Ukraine

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:298468-1
WFO ID wfo-0000344268
COL ID R7XY
BDTFX ID 13417
INPN ID 88324
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Carex inclusa Carex ajanensis Carex alba f. aprica Carex x duerrnbergeri Carex argentea Carex argentea Carex nemorosa Carex alba