Carex saxatilis L.
russet sedge (rock sedge)
Cyperaceae (Sedge family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
russet sedge (rock sedge)
Cyperaceae (Sedge family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC
Carex saxatilis ssp. laxa
Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from short-creeping rhizomes; stems 10-90 cm tall, arising singly, triangular, rough below the inflorescence, longer than the leaves.
Leaves:
Sheaths tight; ligules as long as wide; blades 4 to 8 per stem, flat, the margins rolled-under, borne on the lower 1/2 of the stem, 2-12 mm wide, the lower ones reduced, persistent.
Flowers:
Spikes 4 to 7, the terminal 1 to 3 linear, 1.5-5 cm long, long-stalked, with many male flowers, the lower 1 to 4 spikes cylindrical, 1.5-5 cm long, with female flowers, or some with male flowers above the female flowers, short-stalked, erect to spreading or nodding; bracts subtending the lowest spike leaflike, sheathless or short-sheathing, the lowest longer than the inflorescence.
Fruits:
Perigynia elliptical to broadly egg-shaped, 3.5-5 mm long, 1-1.2 mm wide, yellowish-green or brown to purplish-black, somewhat inflated, smooth, shiny, 2-ribbed, the bases round, short-stalked, the beaks short, 0.1-0.3 mm long, entire or nearly so; femal
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
Brown
Blooming Period:
Late Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present over the Summer
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Carex saxatilis
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) |
1422 | 540 | 2330 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
3 | 0 | 53 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
311 | 10 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
6 | 2 | 8 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
73 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
ESSF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BAFA(6), BWBS(3), ESSF(35), MH(4), MS(8), SBPS(1), SBS(13), SWB(2) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Bogs, fens, shorelines and wet meadows in the lowland, montane and subalpine zones; frequent throughout BC; circumpolar, N to AK, YT and NT, E to AB and S to MA, CO, UT and WA; N Eurasia.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Carex ambusta Boott
Carex miliaris Michx.
Carex physocarpa J. Presl & C. Presl
Carex rhomalea (Fernald) Mack.
Carex rotundata var. compacta (R. Br. ex Dewey) B. Boivin
Carex saxatilis subsp. laxa (Trautv.) Kalela
Carex saxatilis var. major Olney
Carex saxatilis var. miliaris (Michx.) L.H. Bailey
Carex saxatilis var. rhomalea Fernald