Carex rupestris All.
curly sedge (rock sedge)
Cyperaceae (Sedge family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
curly sedge (rock sedge)
Cyperaceae (Sedge family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial, tufted herb from long, creeping rhizomes; stems 4-12 cm tall, arising singly or a few together, longer or shorter than the leaves.
Leaves:
Sheaths tight, translucent below; ligules slightly wider than long; blades 8 to 12 per stem, flat or folded, borne on the lower 1/2 of the stem, soon drying, 1-3 mm wide, the tips often curled.
Flowers:
Spikes solitary, linear to cylindrical, 10-20 mm long, 3-4.5 mm wide, erect, with both female and male flowers, the male flowers towards the tips, the female flowers below; bractless.
Fruits:
Perigynia egg-shaped, 3-4 mm long, 1.5-1.7 mm wide, brown to straw-coloured, 2-keeled, finely many-nerved, unstalked or nearly so, the beaks short, about 0.2 mm long, bidentate; female scales broadly egg-shaped, shorter than or slightly larger than the perigynia, round or pointed, dark brown, the centres lighter, the margins white-translucent; stigmas 3; achenes sharply 3-angled, 2-2.5 mm long.
Notes:
Two subspecies occur in BC:
1. Female scales slightly larger than and usually concealing the perigynia; leaves 2-3 mm wide ................ssp. drummondiana (Dewey) Holub
1. Female scales shorter than perigynia; leaves about 1.5 mm wide................ ssp. rupestris
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Carex rupestris
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)
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) |
2138 | 1350 | 2635 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
29 | 0 | 86 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
227 | 44 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
2 | 0 | 7 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
56 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
ESSF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
AT(3), BAFA(11), ESSF(35), IMA(6), SWB(1) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Dry rocky slopes, scree slopes and meadows in the alpine zone; rare in N and C BC (ssp. rupestris) and rare in SE BC (ssp. drummondiana); ssp. rupestris - circumpolar, N to AK, YT and NT, and E to NF; Greenland, Iceland, Eurasia; ssp. drummondiana - E to SW AB and S to SD, NM and UT.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Carex drummondiana Dewey
Carex drummondiana Dewey
Carex rupestris subsp. drummondiana (Dewey) Holub
Carex rupestris subsp. rupestris (Dewey) Holub