Carex atratiformis Britton
black sedge (scrabrous black sedge)
Cyperaceae (Sedge family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
black sedge (scrabrous black sedge)
Cyperaceae (Sedge family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial, tufted herb from short rhizomes; stems 30-70 cm tall, exceeding the leaves.
Leaves:
Sheaths reddish towards the bases; blades flat, with rolled-under margins, 3-5 mm wide, the lower ones not much reduced.
Flowers:
Spikes 3 to 6, the terminal with both female and male flowers, the female ones towards the tips, the lower 2 to 5 spikes with female flowers, stalked and nodding, 1-2.5 cm long; bracts subtending the spikes short-sheathing, leaflike, about equalling the spikes.
Fruits:
Perigynia broadly egg-shaped, 2.5-4 mm long, 1.3-1.8 mm wide, with rounded margins above, greenish-brown to reddish-black, flat, nerveless, the beaks short, shallowly bidentate, less than 0.4 mm long; female scales lanceolate, usually shorter than and nearly as wide as the perigynia, pointed at the tips, light to dark brown, with translucent margins; stigmas 3; achenes 3-angled, egg-shaped, granular, 1.2-1.4 mm long.
Illustration
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
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Carex atratiformis
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) |
2026 | 1780 | 2320 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
8 | 0 | 20 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
19 | 15 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
5 | 3 | 7 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
5 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
ESSF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
ESSF(3) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Moist forests, thickets, meadows and streambanks in the montane zone; frequent in N BC; N to AK, YT and NT, disjunct E to NF and S to MA, NH, NY and MI.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Carex atratiformis subsp. raymondii (Calder) A.E. Porsild
Carex raymondii Calder