Carex vesicaria L.
blister sedge (lesser bladder sedge)
Cyperaceae (Sedge family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
blister sedge (lesser bladder sedge)
Cyperaceae (Sedge family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial, tufted herb from short-creeping rhizomes; stems 30-100 cm tall, triangular, rough below the inflorescence, longer than the leaves.
Leaves:
Sheaths tight, the basal ones shattered and forming feather-like patterns; ligules longer than wide; blades 4 to 8 per stem, flat, cross-walled, the margins rolled-under, borne on the lower portion of the stem, 3-7 mm wide, the lower ones reduced, persistent.
Flowers:
Spikes 4 to 7, the terminal 2 or 3 linear, 1.5-5 cm long, long-stalked, with many male flowers and occasionally with a few female flowers, the lower spikes 2 to 4, cylindrical, 2.5-7.5 cm long, with female flowers or some with male flowers above the female flowers, short-stalked, erect to spreading; bracts subtending the lowest spike leaflike, sheathless, longer than the inflorescence.
Fruits:
Perigynia egg-shaped, 7-10 mm long, 1.5-3 mm wide, yellowish-green to reddish-brown, somewhat inflated, smooth, shiny, strongly nerved, abruptly contracted from the broad bases to beaks, the beaks 1.5-3 mm long, bidentate, with straight teeth; female scales lanceolate to egg-shaped, pointed or with short awns, narrower and shorter than the perigynia, yellowish- to reddish-brown, with lighter centres and narrow, translucent margins; stigmas 3; achenes 3-angled, 1.9-2.3 mm long.
Notes:
The distribution and taxonomy of this species in BC is poorly known.
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:
Late Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present over the Summer
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Carex vesicaria
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) |
1045 | 7 | 1836 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
4 | 0 | 33 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
103 | 30 | 212 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
6 | 4 | 8 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
B | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
13 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
ESSF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BWBS(1), ESSF(3), IDF(1), MS(2), SBPS(1), SBS(1) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Fens, swamps, marshes, shorelines and wet meadows in the steppe and montane zones; frequent in S BC E of the Coast-Cascade Mountains, less frequent northward; E to NF and S to ME, MA, VA, MO, SD, NM, AZ and CA; Eurasia.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Carex vesicaria var. vesicaria