Description, ecology and establishment of Carex salina Wahlenb. (Saltmarsh sedge) - A new British species

Carex salina (Cyperaceae) section Phacocystis is a species new to the British Isles, first discovered on a saltmarsh on the west coast of Scotland in 2004. Elsewhere it is found in the northern latitudes of western Europe and the north eastern seaboard of North America. The species is distinct from the closely related C. recta on the basis of habitat, distribution and morphology. It is also morphologically distinct from other closely related members of the same section. It is a component of saltmarshes similar in composition to those found elsewhere in its distribution. It has a hybrid origin, with neither parent recorded from the British Isles. It is most likely to have colonised following long distance dispersal, its establishment possibly facilitated by isostatic uplift (i.e. rise in land level due to relaxation of ice age conditions) and recent climatic changes.