E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Carex scopulorum T. Holm
Holm's Rocky Mountain sedge (mountain sedge)
Cyperaceae (Sedge family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Curtis Bjork  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #19090)

E-Flora BC Static Map
Distribution of Carex scopulorum
Click here to view our interactive map and legend
Details about map content are available here
Click on the map dots to view record details.

Species Information

Click on the image below to view an expanded illustration for this species.



General:
Perennial, clumped herb from short rhizomes; stems triangular with rough edges, 10-65 cm tall, exceeding the leaves.
Leaves:
Sheaths tight, short; blades flat, well distributed along the stem, 3-6 mm wide, the lower ones reduced.
Flowers:
Spikes 3 or 4, the terminal spike with male flowers, the lower spikes 2 or 3, with female flowers (sometimes with male flowers at the tips), unstalked or with short stalks, 0.5-2.5 cm long, erect; lowermost bract subtending the spikes scalelike, sheathless, with black ear-shaped lobes, the upper ones reduced.
Fruits:
Perigynia broadly egg-shaped, 2-4 mm long, 1.2-2.3 mm wide, brownish-green, 3-angled, the angles rounded, smooth to somewhat wrinkled, beakless; female scales egg-shaped, shorter or longer than the perigynia, brownish-red to purplish-black, with lighter 3-nerved centres and translucent margins; stigmas 2; achenes lens-shaped, 1.2-1.7 mm long.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

USDA Species Characteristics

Flower Colour:
Purple
Blooming Period:
Late Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present over the Summer
Source:  The USDA

Habitat / Range

Shorelines, streambanks and wet to moist meadows in the montane to alpine zones; rare in SC BC; E to SW AB and S to CO, AZ and CA.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Carex scopulorum

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

Minimum

Average

Maximum

Elevation (metres) 350 1721 2150
Slope Gradient (%) 0 2 15
Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]
14 296 332
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
5 6 8
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
D
Number of field plots
 species was recorded in:
36
Modal BEC Zone Class
ESSF
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in: BG(1), ESSF(26), MS(7), SBS(2)

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Additional Photo Sources

General References