Carex mertensii Prescott ex Bong.
Mertens' sedge
Cyperaceae (Sedge family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Mertens' sedge
Cyperaceae (Sedge family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial, tufted herb from short, stout rhizomes; stems 15-100 cm tall, exceeding the leaves.
Leaves:
Sheaths purplish-red towards the bases; blades flat, 2-6 mm wide, the lower ones much reduced.
Flowers:
Spikes 5 to 10, the terminal one with female flowers at the top and male flowers below, the lower spikes 4 to 9, with female flowers, long-stalked, 1-4 cm long, drooping; bracts subtending the spikes sheathless, leaflike, longer than the inflorescence.
Fruits:
Perigynia broadly egg-shaped, 3.5-4 mm long, 1.8-2.2 mm wide, papery thin, pale yellow to green or light brown, marginally 2-ribbed, otherwise faintly nerved, the beaks short, less than 0.4 mm long; female scales lanceolate, much shorter and narrower than the perigynia, pointed at the tips, reddish-black, with light brown margins; stigmas 3; achenes 3-angled, stalked, 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:
Purple
Blooming Period:
Late Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Spring to Summer
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Carex mertensii
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) |
664 | 0 | 2179 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
19 | 0 | 105 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
188 | 6 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
5 | 1 | 8 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
D | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
220 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
CWH | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
CWH(116), ESSF(40), ICH(22), MH(17), MS(2), SBPS(2), SBS(6) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Roadsides, ditches, and wet meadows in the lowland and montane zones; common in BC south of 55degreeN, rare in NW BC; amphiberingian, N to AK and S YT, E to AB and S to ID, MT and CA; E Asia.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Carex mertensii subsp. mertensii