Carex heteroneura

Murray in FNA (2002, vol. 23) recognizes Carex chalciolepis, C. epapillosa, and C. heteroneura as distinct species. Kartesz (1994, 1999) recognized C. chalciolepis and C. epapillosa as varieties of C. heteroneura, such that C. heteroneura in the narrow sense recognized in FNA (2002) is likely equivalent in concept to C. heteroneura var. heteroneura when these taxa are accepted as varieties. Note that Kartesz (1994, 1999) excluded C. heteroneura var. brevisquama from C. heteroneura var. heteroneura while Murray does not address var. brevisquama in FNA (2002), possibly because that name did not meet criteria for publication. The distribution reported for C. heteroneura in FNA does not suggest that plants identified as var. brevisquama should be treated as C. heteroneura. Welsh et al. (2015) also recognize C. chalciolepis and C. epapillosa as varieties of C. heteroneura, saying plants in Utah show a continuum of characters but that trends in morphology, as well as geography, seem sufficient to maintain a distinction at the varietal level.

This plant occurs in the U.S. in California, Nevada, and Wyoming (Kartesz 1999). It is in 15 eastern counties in California, and three western counties in Nevada (Kartesz 2003 draft).

In California, this plant inhabits rocky meadows, forest openings, and rocky slopes from 1800 - 3500 m in the Klamath Ranges, High Cascade Range, High Sierra Nevada, San Gabriel Mountains, San Bernandino Mountains, San Jacinto Mountains, Warner Mountains, East of Sierra Nevada (Sweetwater Mountains), and the White and Inyo Mountains (Hickman 1993). In Nevada, this plant is common from Sierra Nevada of Washoe and Carson City counties at 8,500-9,000 ft in mountain meadows and seeps to rocky slopes with Abies magnifica, Populus tremuloides to subalpine forests (Kartesz 1988).