Carex supina Willd. ex Wahlenb.
Weak Arctic Sedge (Large-awned Sedge; spreading arctic sedge)
Cyperaceae (Sedge family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Ryan Batten     (Photo ID #53146)


Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

Distribution of Carex supina
Click here to view the full interactive map and legend

SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC

Carex supina ssp. spaniocarpa

Species Information

General:
Perennial, loosely tufted herb from short, spreading rhizomes; stems 4-20 cm tall, sharply triangular, roughened, clustered, longer than the leaves.
Leaves:
Sheaths tight, brownish; blades 4 to 8, flat or more or less channeled, borne on the lower 1/3 of the stem, 0.5-1.8 mm wide, the lower ones reduced.
Flowers:
Spikes 2 to 4, the terminal one linear, 10-13 mm long, stalked, with male flowers, the lower spikes 1 to 3, egg-shaped, few-flowered, with female flowers, unstalked to short-stalked, erect to spreading; bracts subtending the female spikes scalelike, awned, sheathless, slightly longer to slightly shorter than the spikes, the lowest one with conspicuous, translucent, ear-shaped lobes.
Fruits:
Perigynia elliptical to egg-shaped, 2.5-3.5 mm long, 1.4-1.8 mm wide, yellowish-green to brown, smooth, shiny, with 2 prominent marginal nerves, short-stalked, the beaks short, obliquely cut, 0.4-0.8 mm long; female scales broadly egg-shaped, pointed or sometimes shortly awned, shorter than the perigynia, chestnut-brown, with lighter midribs and translucent margins; stigmas 3; achenes 3-angled, smooth, 1-1.6 mm long.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Carex supina

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
Value / Class

Avg

Min

Max

Elevation (metres)
1269 595 2161
Slope Gradient (%)
60 8 130

Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]

169 70 340
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
1 1 4
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
D
# of field plots
 species was recorded in:
10
Modal BEC Zone Class
SWB

All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in

ESSF(1), SBS(3), SWB(6)

Habitat and Range

Dry rocky or sandy, grassy slopes and rock outcrops in the montane zone; rare in WC BC, infrequent in N BC; circumpolar, N to AK, YT and NT, E to PQ and S to MN; Greenland, Eurasia.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia