Carex disperma Dewey
soft-leaved sedge (softleaf sedge)
Cyperaceae (Sedge family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
soft-leaved sedge (softleaf sedge)
Cyperaceae (Sedge family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial, loosely tufted herb from rhizomes and elongated, light brown stolons; stems 15-60 cm tall, slender and arching, shorter than or about as long as the leaves.
Leaves:
Sheaths tight; blades numerous, borne on the lower part of the stems, 0.7-1.2 mm wide, flat.
Flowers:
Spikes 5 to 10 in a long inflorescence, separated, the uppermost closer together, egg-shaped, 1- to 6-flowered, about 5 mm long, ascending, with both female and male flowers, the female flowers towards the base, the male flowers inconspicuous; bracts reduced, only the lowermost bract often awnlike, about 0.5-2 cm long.
Fruits:
Perigynia elliptical, 2.2-3 mm long, 0.8-1.5 mm wide, light green, minutely whitish-dotted, biconvex, smooth, 1- or 2-ribbed, beakless; female scales egg-shaped, covering 1/2 of the perigynia, pointed, green, with green midribs; stigmas 2; achenes lens-shaped, 1.5-1.7 mm long, filling the perigynia.
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 disperma
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) |
1100 | 10 | 2335 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
3 | 0 | 110 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
11 | 0 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
6 | 1 | 8 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
D | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
948 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
SBS | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BG(1), BWBS(74), CWH(6), ESSF(148), ICH(153), IDF(95), MH(1), MS(146), PP(4), SBPS(73), SBS(225), SWB(3) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Bogs, fens, swamps, wet meadows and moist to wet forests in all but the alpine zone; common in BC east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains, rare in coastal BC; circumpolar, N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF and S to NJ, PA, MN, SD, UT, AZ, NM and CA; Eurasia.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Carex tenella