Carex pachystachya Cham. ex Steud.
thick-headed sedge (chamisso sedge)
Cyperaceae (Sedge family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
thick-headed sedge (chamisso sedge)
Cyperaceae (Sedge family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial, tufted herb from fibrous roots; stems triangular, with blunt edges, 20-50 cm tall, exceeding the leaves.
Leaves:
Sheaths tight; blades flat, 2-4 mm wide, borne on the lower 1/3 of the stem.
Flowers:
Spikes 4 to 12, aggregated into a dense head, 1-2.5 cm wide, unstalked, with both female and male flowers, the female ones towards the tips; bracts subtending the spikes sheathless, reduced, inconspicuous.
Fruits:
Perigynia egg-shaped, 3-4 mm long, 1-1.5 mm wide, dark green to dark brown, the margins winged nearly to the bases, the upper 1/2 fringed with teeth, lightly several-nerved on the back, with faint nerves or nerveless below, the beaks shallowly bidentate, up to 1 mm long, narrowly margined and toothed below; female scales elliptical, chestnut-brown to dark brown, with slightly lighter midribs, somewhat shorter and narrower than the perigynia; stigmas 2; achenes lens-shaped, 1.1-1.5 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:
Red
Blooming Period:
Late Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Spring to Summer
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Carex pachystachya
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) |
1307 | 20 | 2610 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
17 | 0 | 300 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
186 | 17 | 346 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
4 | 0 | 7 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
D | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
96 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
ESSF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
AT(7), BAFA(1), CWH(14), ESSF(37), ICH(6), IDF(6), IMA(2), MS(2), SBPS(5), SBS(10) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Mesic to wet sites in all vegetation zones; common throughout all but NE BC; amphiberingian, N to AK, YT and NT, E to SK and S to CO, UT, NV and CA; NE Asia.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Carex festiva var. gracilis Olney
Carex festiva var. pachystachya (Cham. ex Steud.) Bailey
Carex macloviana subsp. pachystachya (Cham. ex Steud.) HultΘn
Carex macloviana var. pachystachya (Cham. ex Steud.) Knkenth.
Carex multimoda Bailey
Carex pachystachya var. gracilis (Olney) Mackenzie
Carex pachystachya var. monds-coulteri L. Kelso
Carex pyrophila Gandog.