3309042 Carex williamsii Britton
Distribution
Polar Ural - Novaya Zemlya: Rare
Yamal - Gydan: Rare
Taimyr - Severnaya Zemlya: Rare
Kharaulakh: Rare
Yana - Kolyma: Rare
West Chukotka: Scattered
South Chukotka: Rare
East Chukotka: Scattered
Western Alaska: Scattered
Northern Alaska - Yukon: Frequent
Central Canada: Scattered
Hudson Bay - Labrador: Scattered
Southern Arcti Tundra: Rare
Shrub Tundra: Scattered
Bordering boreal or alpine areas: Scattered
- Britton, Bull. New York Bot. Gard. 2: 159 (1901). Holotype (NY): Canada: the Yukon Territory, Dawson, 12. June 1899, leg. R.S. Williams.
- Carex novograblenovii Kom., Izv. Bot. Sada Akad. Nauk SSSR 30: 199 (1932). Described from Kamtchatka (the Russian Far East).
2n=
46. - Far East (N). - Yurtsev and Zhukova (1978); Zhukova (1980); Zhukova and Petrovsky (1980, 1987b).
Not included: Reports of 2n = 18 from Alaska without further information (Löve et al. 1957) and from Manitoba (Löve and Löve 1981d).
Geography: Asian (N/C) - amphi-Beringian - North American (N): RUS SIB RFE ALA CAN.
Notes: Elven: The discrepancy between the reports of 2n = 18 from North America (Löve et al. 1957; Löve and Löve 1981d) and the Russian ones of 2n = 46 from Asia is strange. The Russian counts have been verified by vouchers as belonging to Carex williamsii. Vouchers for the Löves' counts are mostly non-existing or notoriously difficult to find. There is no other species in this group reported with such a low chromosome number as 2n = 18.
Ball: What is equally strange is that they the Löves also reported 2n = 18 for C. novograblenovii from Asia, which is now considered a synonym of C. williamsii. Most of the chromosome counts in this publication Löve et al. 1957 seem to have been based on seed collected from herbarium specimens and presumably then grown on until they had enough root tips to excise. I doubt they ever grew the plants they counted to maturity, to confirm that what they were growing was the plant from which they took the seed. Most likely they counted a grass-like weed which came up in the pots.
Higher Taxa
- Carex [3309,genus]