Development of the Inflorescence in Carex

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Abstract
In Britain the transition from the vegetative to the flowering phase in species of Carex occurs in July or August. The young inflorescence becomes dormant in October or November and flowering occurs the following spring. During the transition the apex enlarges both vertically and transversely, and bract primordia are initiated low on the flanks of the meristem. Each bract primordium subtends an axillary growth centre. Depending on the species, the primordia which arise from the first-formed growth centres may develop into either lateral spikes or female flowers; chose formed later may develop into either male or female flowers. The three types of axillary structure: lateral spike, female flower, and male flower, arise from only two types of primordia: a male flower primordium, which develops only as a male flower; and a ‘spikelet primordium’, which can develop either as a lateral spike or as a female flower, according to which of the two meristems present within it aborts. When the development of the inflorescence is interpreted in terms of these two types of primordia the fundamental similarity between the different inflorescence types occurring in the genus becomes evident.

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