Foliar micro-morphology ofCarexsect.Phacocystisin northern Europe

A micro-morphological analysis of leaf epidermis (adaxial and abaxial sides) of fifteen taxa of Carex section Phacocystis was carried out using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Three taxa were epistomatic (C. nigra var. nigra, C.nigra var. juncea and C. subspathacea), seven taxa were hypostomatic (C. acuta, C. bigelowii ssp. bigelowii, C. bigelowii ssp. rigida, C. cespitosa, C. elata, C. lyngbyei and C. paleacea) and five amphistomatic (C. aquatilis, C.×halophila, C. rufina, C. stans and C. trinervis). Epidermal modifications such as prickles were present in many species. The micro-morphological leaf characters of the investigated species were found to be important for distinguishing individual taxa but not for subsectional classification.