Carex capitata L.
capitate sedge
Cyperaceae (Sedge family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
capitate sedge
Cyperaceae (Sedge family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial, tufted herb from short rhizomes; stems 10-35 cm tall, equalling or much longer than the leaves.
Leaves:
Sheaths blunt at the tips with short ligules; blades 2 to 4 per stem from near the bases, thread-like, about 1 mm wide, the lower ones lacking or reduced to scales.
Flowers:
Spikes solitary, globe- or egg-shaped, 5-15 mm long, 3-7 mm wide, erect, with both female and male flowers, the male flowers towards the tips; bractless.
Fruits:
Perigynia egg- to nearly globe-shaped, 2-3.5 mm long, about 1.5 mm wide, pale green, flattened, smooth, nerveless on the fronts, finely few-nerved on the backs, unstalked, the beaks 0.3-0.7 mm long, bidentate; female scales egg-shaped, slightly shorter than the perigynia, round-tipped, dark brown, the margins translucent; stigmas 2; achenes lens-shaped, 1.2-2 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 capitata
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) |
1856 | 620 | 2318 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
16 | 0 | 235 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
185 | 20 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
3 | 0 | 7 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
71 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
BAFA | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
AT(2), BAFA(40), ESSF(16), IMA(7), MH(1), MS(1), SBPS(1), SWB(2) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Bogs and moist to dry, rocky slopes, streambanks and seepage slopes in the subalpine and alpine zones; frequent throughout BC in and E of the Coast-Cascade Mountains; circumpolar, N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF and S to NH, UT, NM, CA and MX; Greenland, Iceland, Eurasia, disjunct to S South America.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Carex capitata subsp. arctogena (Harry Sm.) Hiitonen
Carex capitata subsp. capitata L.
Carex capitata var. arctogena (Harry Sm.) Hultén