Carex wakatipu Petrie

Shortly rhizomatous; very variable in size, tufts dark green, reddish green or yellow-green. Culms 4–30–(50) cm. × c. 1 mm., subtrigonous, glab. or occ. faintly scabrid below infl., sunk among the lvs or sometimes elongating far beyond the lvs and drooping; basal sheaths dark brown or red-purple, nerves ± distinct. Lvs 2–4 mm. wide, ± erect or spreading, channelled, margins scarcely scabrid at base with well-spaced teeth towards tip. Spikes 4–5–(6), closely packed, at about the same level on the culm; terminal spike male, much more slender than and us. > female spikes; female spikes male at the base and occ. at the top, 1–2 cm. × c. 5 mm., shortly pedunculate. Glumes slightly < utricles, broadly ovate, us. emarginate, sometimes almost entire, occ. red-brown, us. very light brown flecked with darker brown striae, membr., midrib very broad, very pale brown, produced to a short scabrid awn. Utricles 2.5–3 × c. 2 mm., plano-convex or unequally biconvex, broadly elliptic-ovoid, pale brown flecked with red-brown striae below, or darker brown throughout, occ. almost black, turgid, nerved, margins us. glab.; beak c. 0.3 mm. long with a broad, ciliate, shortly bifid orifice; stipe c. 0.2 mm. long. Stigmas 2. Nut slightly > 1.5 mm. long, biconvex, almost orbicular.