Carex phylloscirpoides (Cyperaceae), a new remarkable dwarf sedge from the Andes of northern Chile. Carex in the Neotropics

Despite Carex (Cyperaceae) is represented in the Neotropics by about 200 spp., and accounts for an important portion of the biomass in grasslands, the knowledge of the genus in Central and South America is still fragmentary and needed of further study. Within this project we aim to understand the colonization of the continent by Carex and the evolutionary processes involved, as well as to improve the taxonomic and distribution knowledge of the genus. In the course of this project, a new peculiar dwarf sedge from high altitudes of the Tarapacá region of the Andes in northern Chile, belonging to the predominantly high-mountain sedge group Carex sect. Racemosae, will be described as new to science.