Carex pilulifera
{{Short description|Species of grass-like plant}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Carex pilulifera.jpeg
| display_parents = 2
| genus = Carex
| parent = Carex sect. Acrocystis
| species = pilulifera
| authority = L.
| synonyms =
- Bitteria pilulifera {{small|(L.) Fedde & J.Schust.}}
- Trasus pilulifer {{small|(L.) Gray}}
| synonyms_ref = {{cite web |title=Carex pilulifera L. |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:301587-1 |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=27 February 2025}}
}}
Carex pilulifera, the pill sedge,{{BSBI 2007 |accessdate=2014-10-17 }} is a European species of sedge found in acid heaths, woods and grassland from Macaronesia to Scandinavia. It grows up to {{convert|30|cm|abbr=on}} tall, with 2–4 female spikes and 1 male spike in an inflorescence. These stalks bend as the seeds ripen, and the seeds are collected and dispersed by ants of the species Myrmica ruginodis.
Description
File:Carex.pilulifera2.-.lindsey.jpg]]
The culms of Carex pilulifera grow to a length of {{convert|8|-|30|cm|0}}, and are often noticeably curved.{{cite book |author1=A. C. Jermy |author2=D. A. Simpson |author3=M. J. Y. Foley |author4=M. S. Porter |year=2007 |title=Sedges of the British Isles |edition=3rd |series=BSBI Handbook No. 1 |isbn=978-0-901158-35-2 |publisher=Botanical Society of the British Isles |chapter=Carex pilulifera L. |pages=431–433}} The leaves are {{convert|5|-|20|cm|0|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|1.5|-|2.0|mm|2}} wide, and are fairly flat. The rhizomes of C. pilulifera are very short, giving the plant a caespitose (densely tufted) appearance. The tussock grows outwards through the production of annual side-shoots.
The inflorescence comprises a single, terminal, male (staminate) spike, and 2–4 lateral female (pistillate) spikes. The spikes are clustered together, and the whole inflorescence is {{convert|1|-|4|cm|1|abbr=on}} long. The female spikes are {{convert|4|-|8|mm|abbr=on}} long, ovoid or approaching spherical, and contains 5–15 flowers. The female spikes are attached directly to the stem, and each is subtended by a bract which does not form a sheath. The male spike is {{convert|8|-|15|mm|1|abbr=on}} long and much narrower.
Distribution and ecology
Carex pilulifera has a wide distribution in Europe, extending from Macaronesia (Azores and Madeira) and the northern Balkan Peninsula to Scandinavia and northern European Russia.{{cite book |editor1=T. G. Tutin |editor2=V. H. Heywood |editor3=N. A. Burges |editor4=D. A. Webb |editor5=I. B. K. Richardson |year=2010 |series=Flora Europaea |volume=5 |title=Alismataceae to Orchidaceae |isbn=978-0-521-15370-6 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |chapter=Carex |author=A. O. Chater |pages=290–323}} It grows on acidic substrates including heathland, grassland and woodland. It typically inhabits soils with a pH of 4.5–6.0.
As the seeds of C. pilulifera ripen, the culms bend, and can eventually touch the ground.{{cite journal |author=Gösta Kjellsson |year=1985 |title=Seed fate in a population of Carex pilulifera L. I. Seed dispersal and ant-seed mutualism |journal=Oecologia |volume=67 |issue=3 |pages=416–423 |jstor=4217752 |doi=10.1007/BF00384949|pmid=28311577 |s2cid=19960204 }} The seeds are then dispersed by ants, particularly Myrmica ruginodis, in a process known as myrmecochory, and are eaten by other insects, such as the ground beetle Harpalus fuliginosus.
Subspecies
- Carex pilulifera subsp. azorica {{small|(J.Gay) Franco & Rocha Afonso}} (synonym Carex azorica {{small|J.Gay}}) – Azores
- Carex pilulifera subsp. pilulifera (synonyms Carex aederi {{small|Desv.}}, Carex alba {{small|Bastard}}, Carex bastardiana {{small|DC.}}, Carex decumbens {{small|Ehrh.}}, Carex pullulans {{small|Dulac}}, and Carex saxumbra {{small|F.Lees}}){{cite web |title=Carex pilulifera subsp. pilulifera |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77169962-1 |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=27 February 2025}} – Europe and Madeira
Taxonomic history
Carex pilulifera was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1753 work Species Plantarum, which marks the starting point of botanical nomenclature. The specific epithet {{lang|la|pilulifera}} means "bearing small globular structures", in reference to the female spikes.{{cite web |url=http://linnaeus.nrm.se/flora/mono/cypera/carex/carepil.html |title=Pillerstarr, Carex pilulifera L. |work=Den virtuella floran |language=Swedish |accessdate=July 25, 2011 |publisher=Naturhistoriska riksmuseet |date=July 28, 2010}}
References
{{Reflist|32em}}
External links
- {{Commons category-inline|Carex pilulifera|Carex pilulifera}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q158935}}