''Carex pilulifera'', the pill sedge, is a European species of

sedge The Cyperaceae () are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as wikt:sedge, sedges. The family (biology), family is large; botanists have species description, described some 5,500 known species in about 90 ...

found in acid

heaths A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

, woods and

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

from

Macaronesia Macaronesia (; ) is a collection of four volcanic archipelagos in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlantic, North Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of North Africa and Europe. Each archipelago is made up of a number of list of islands in the Atlantic Oc ...

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

. It grows up to 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

ant Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cre ...

s of the species ''

Myrmica ruginodis ''Myrmica ruginodis'' is a species of ant that lives in northern parts of Europe and Asia. It is very similar to '' M. rubra'', but has a more northerly and higher-altitude distribution. Overwintering larvae may become either workers or queen an ...

''.

Description

The culms of ''Carex pilulifera'' grow to a length of , and are often noticeably curved. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are long and wide, and are fairly flat. The

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and Shoot (botany), shoots from its Node (botany), nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from ...

s 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 In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

comprises a single, terminal, male (staminate)

spike Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Books * ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave * ''The Spike'' (Broderick book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick * ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter ...

, and 2–4 lateral female (pistillate) spikes. The spikes are clustered together, and the whole inflorescence is long. The female spikes are 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 In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...

which does not form a sheath. The male spike is long and much narrower.

Distribution and ecology

''Carex pilulifera'' has a wide distribution in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, extending from

(Azores and Madeira) and the northern

Balkan Peninsula The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

and northern European Russia. It grows on acidic substrates including

heathland A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

and

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

. It typically inhabits soils with a pH of 4.5–6.0. As the

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

s of ''C. pilulifera'' ripen, the culms bend, and can eventually touch the ground. The seeds are then dispersed by

s, particularly ''

'', in a process known as

myrmecochory Myrmecochory ( (sometimes myrmechory); from ("ant") and ''khoreíā'' ("circular dance") is seed dispersal by ants, an ecologically significant Myrmecophily, ant–plant Biological interaction, interaction with worldwide distribution. Most ...

, and are eaten by other insects, such as the

ground beetle Ground beetles are a large, cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan family (biology), family of beetles, the Carabidae, with more than 40,000 species worldwide, around 2,000 of which are found in North America and 2,700 in Europe. As of 2015, it ...

'' Harpalus fuliginosus''.

Subspecies

Two subspecies are accepted. *''Carex pilulifera'' subsp. ''azorica'' (synonym ''Carex azorica'' ) – Azores *''Carex pilulifera'' subsp. ''pilulifera'' (synonyms ''Carex aederi'' , ''Carex alba'' , ''Carex bastardiana'' , ''Carex decumbens'' , ''Carex pullulans'' , and ''Carex saxumbra'' ) – Europe and Madeira

Taxonomic history

''Carex pilulifera'' was first described by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

in his 1753 work ''

Species Plantarum ' (Latin for "The Species of Plants") is a book by Carl Linnaeus, originally published in 1753, which lists every species of plant known at the time, classified into genus, genera. It is the first work to consistently apply binomial nomenclature ...

'', which marks the starting point of

botanical nomenclature Botanical nomenclature is the formal, scientific naming of plants. It is related to, but distinct from taxonomy (biology), taxonomy. Plant taxonomy is concerned with grouping and classifying plants; Botany, botanical nomenclature then provides na ...

. The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

' means "bearing small globular structures", in reference to the female spikes.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q158935 pilulifera Flora of Europe Flora of the Azores Flora of Madeira Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus