Carex rossii Boott
Ross's sedge
Cyperaceae (Sedge family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Ross's sedge
Cyperaceae (Sedge family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial, densely tufted herb from short rhizomes; stems 5-30 (40) cm tall, densely clustered, longer than or sometimes equalling the leaves, purple-tinged at the bases.
Leaves:
Sheaths tight, persistent; blades flat, channeled above, smooth or somewhat rough, borne on the lower 1/4 of the stem, 1-4 mm wide, the lower ones slightly reduced.
Flowers:
Spikes 4 to 10, the terminal one unstalked or short-stalked, 5-15 mm long, with male flowers, the lower spikes 3 to 9, few-flowered, with female flowers, unstalked to short-stalked, 1 to 4 of these borne near the male spike and 1 or more borne near the bases of the stem, erect; bracts subtending the female spikes leaflike, sheathless or short-sheathing, from shorter than to 4 times as long as the male spike, the upper bracts reduced.
Fruits:
Perigynia elliptical to nearly globe-shaped, 3-4 mm long, 2.6-3 mm wide, green to straw-coloured, convex, finely short-hairy, with 2 prominent marginal nerves, the bases long-stalked, the beaks short and inconspicuous to slender and 0.4-1.8 mm long, shallowly bidentate; female scales egg-shaped and pointed on the upper perigynia to broadly lanceolate and awned on the lower perigynia, usually shorter and somewhat wider than the perigynia, brownish-green, with lighter midribs and translucent margins; stigmas 3, rarely 2; achenes 3-angled, smooth, 1.5-2 mm long.
Notes:
Part of the poorly studied C. deflexa complex.
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:
Mid Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Spring to Summer
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Carex rossii
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) |
1189 | 0 | 2508 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
35 | 0 | 250 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
185 | 0 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
2 | 0 | 8 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
B | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
1137 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
ESSF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
AT(13), BAFA(2), BG(30), BWBS(12), CDF(1), CWH(71), ESSF(295), ICH(151), IDF(285), IMA(1), MH(2), MS(80), PP(40), SBPS(12), SBS(54), SWB(2) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Dry to mesic open forests, rock outcrops and forest openings in all vegetation zones; common throughout BC except absent on the Queen Charlotte Islands; N to AK and YT, E to ON, and S to MI, NE, NM, AZ and CA.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Carex brevipes W. Boott
Carex deflexa var. rossii (Boott) L.H. Bailey
Carex diversistylis Roach