Carex capillaris L.
hairlike sedge (hair sedge)
Cyperaceae (Sedge family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
hairlike sedge (hair sedge)
Cyperaceae (Sedge family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial, tufted herb from fibrous roots; stems 5-20 cm tall, exceeding the leaves.
Leaves:
Sheaths tight, brownish to straw-coloured; blades flat, 1-3 mm wide, borne on the lower 1/3 of the stem.
Flowers:
Spikes 2 to 5, the terminal one long-stalked, 4-10 mm long, with male flowers, the lower 2 to 4 spikes with female flowers, long-stalked, spreading or nodding; bracts subtending the female spikes tubular-sheathed, leaflike, the lower bracts longer than the spikes and their stalks, the upper one reduced.
Fruits:
Perigynia lanceolate to egg-shaped, 2-3.3 mm long, 1-1.5 mm wide, green to greenish-brown, convex, smooth or fringed above with teeth, 2-nerved, short-stalked, the beaks bidentate, 0.3-0.6 mm long; female scales egg-shaped, rounded to pointed, brownish, with green centres and translucent margins, shorter but often wider than the perigynia; stigmas 3; achenes 3-angled, 1.2-1.5 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
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
Green
Blooming Period:
Late Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present over the Summer
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Carex capillaris
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) |
1547 | 8 | 2455 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
8 | 0 | 65 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
300 | 0 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
4 | 0 | 8 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
149 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
ESSF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
AT(26), BAFA(8), BWBS(14), CWH(1), ESSF(36), ICH(4), IDF(2), IMA(4), MS(19), SBPS(5), SBS(9), SWB(11) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Moist to wet shorelines, bogs, fens, streambanks and seepage slopes in the montane to alpine zones; frequent throughout BC east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains; circumpolar, N to AK, YT and NT, E to Labr. and NF and S to ME, NY, MI, WI, MN, SD, NM, UT, NV and OR; Greenland, Iceland, Eurasia.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Carex boecheriana A. Löve, D. Löve & Raymond
Carex capillaris subsp. chlorostachys (Stev.) A. Löve, D. Löve & Raymond
Carex capillaris subsp. krausei (Boeckeler) Böcher
Carex capillaris subsp. porsildiana (Polunin) Böcher
Carex capillaris subsp. robustior (Drejer ex Lange) Böcher
Carex capillaris var. elongata Olney ex Fernald
Carex capillaris var. fuscidula (Krecz.) A. Löve & D. Löve
Carex capillaris var. krausei (Boeckeler) Crantz
Carex capillaris var. major Blytt
Carex chlorostachys
Carex fuscidula
Carex krausei subsp. porsildiana (Polunin) A. Löve, D. Löve & Raymond