General:
Perennial, tufted herb from short, stout rhizomes; stems 15-100 cm tall, exceeding the leaves.
Leaves:
Sheaths purplish-red towards the bases; blades flat, 2-6 mm wide, the lower ones much reduced.
Flowers:
Spikes 5 to 10, the terminal one with female flowers at the top and male flowers below, the lower spikes 4 to 9, with female flowers, long-stalked, 1-4 cm long, drooping; bracts subtending the spikes sheathless, leaflike, longer than the inflorescence.
Fruits:
Perigynia broadly egg-shaped, 3.5-4 mm long, 1.8-2.2 mm wide, papery thin, pale yellow to green or light brown, marginally 2-ribbed, otherwise faintly nerved, the beaks short, less than 0.4 mm long; female scales lanceolate, much shorter and narrower than the perigynia, pointed at the tips, reddish-black, with light brown margins; stigmas 3; achenes 3-angled, stalked, 1.2-1.5 mm long.
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Flower Colour:
Purple
Blooming Period:
Late Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Spring to Summer
Source: The USDA
Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
Elevation
(metres) |
664 | 0 | 2179 |
Slope
Gradient (%) |
19 | 0 | 105 |
Aspect (degrees) |
188 | 6 | 360 |
Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
5 | 1 | 8 |
Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
D | ||
#
of field plots species was recorded in: |
220 | ||
Modal
BEC Zone Class |
CWH | ||
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
CWH(116), ESSF(40), ICH(22), MH(17), MS(2), SBPS(2), SBS(6) | ||
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Carex mertensii subsp. mertensii