Carex is a vast genus of nearly 2,000 species of grass-like plants in the family Cyperaceae, commonly known as sedges. Other members of the family Cyperaceae are also called sedges, however those of genus Carex may be called true sedges, and it is the most species-rich genus in the family. The study of Carex is known as caricology.
Carex alma is a species of sedge known by the common name sturdy sedge. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it grows in moist spots in a number of habitat types. This sedge forms a thick clump of thin stems up to 90 centimeters in length and long, thready leaves. The leaves have basal sheaths with conspicuous red coloration, often spotting. The inflorescence is a dense to open cluster of many spikelets occurring both at the ends of stems and at nodes. Each cluster is up to 15 centimeters long and 1 to 2 wide. The plant is sometimes dioecious, with an individual sedge bearing either male or female flowers. The female, pistillate flowers have white or white-edged bracts. The male, staminate flowers have visible anthers 2 millimeters long or longer. The fruit is coated in a sac called a perigynium which is gold to dark brown in color and has a characteristic bit of spongy tissue at the base.
Carex angustata is a species of sedge known by the common name widefruit sedge. It is native to the western United States from Washington and Idaho to California, where it grows in wet meadows and on streambanks.
Carex molesta is a species of sedge known by the common name troublesome sedge. It is native to eastern and central North America, where it grows in varied wet and dry habitats, performs equally well in full sun and partial shade, including disturbed areas such as roadsides. It is an introduced species and often a weed in California.
Carex obnupta is a species of sedge known by the common name slough sedge. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California where it grows abundantly in wet, often saline habitat such as wetlands. The plant produces upright, angled stems approaching 1.2 meters in maximum height, growing in beds or colonies from rhizome networks. The inflorescence is a cluster of flower spikes accompanied by a long leaflike bract. The pistillate spikes and sometimes the staminate spikes dangle on peduncles. The fruit is coated by a hard, tough, shiny perigynium which is generally dark in color.
Carex rossii, commonly known as Ross's sedge, is a hardy species of sedge that is often a pioneer species in areas with little or no established vegetation, or in places where disturbance has occurred. Ross's sedge grows in a variety of habitats throughout much of western North America, from Alaska to Ontario, south to New Mexico and California. It flowers in May and June.
Carex klamathensis is a rare species of sedge known by the common name Klamath sedge. It is known from 15 or fewer populations in southern Oregon and three populations in the Klamath Region of northern California. It was described to science only in 2007. Its habitat includes fens and other wet habitat, on serpentine soils. It was discovered independently by botanists Peter Zika and Lawrence Janeway.
Carex binervis, the green-ribbed sedge, is a European species of sedge with an Atlantic distribution. It is found from Fennoscandia to the Iberian Peninsula, and occurs in heaths, moorland and other damp, acidic environments. It typically grows to a height of 15–120 cm (6–50 in), and has inflorescences comprising one male and several female spikes, each up to 45 mm (1.8 in) long. The utricles have two conspicuous green veins, which give rise to both the scientific name and the common name of the species. In the vegetative state, it closely resembles C. bigelowii, a species that usually grows at higher altitude. C. binervis was first described by James Edward Smith in 1800, and is classified in Carex sect. Spirostachyae; several hybrids with other Carex species are known.
Carex otrubae, the false fox-sedge, is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family, Cyperaceae.
Carex lacustris, known as lake sedge, is a tufted grass-like perennial of the sedge family (Cyperaceae), native to southern Canada and the northern United States. C. lacustris us an herbaceous surface-piercing plant that grows in water up to 50 cm (1.6 ft) deep, and grows 50–150 cm (1.6–4.9 ft) tall. It grows well in marshes and swampy woods of the boreal forest, along river and lake shores, in ditches, marshes, swamps, and other wetland habitat. It grows on muck, sedge peat, wet sand or silt, in filtered or full sunlight.
Carex lemmonii, or Lemmon's sedge, is a plant in the sedge family, and is endemic to California. Carex albida is now considered a synonym, but was previously thought to be a separate species; such plants have the common name white sedge.
Carex brevior, known as shortbeak sedge and plains oval sedge, is a species of sedge native to North America. The specific epithet brevior means "shorter" in Latin.
Carex arkansana is a tussock-forming species of perennial sedge in the family Cyperaceae. It is native to central parts of the United States.
Carex bella is a tussock-forming species of perennial sedge in the family Cyperaceae. It is native to parts of the United States and Mexico, including California, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and South Dakota in the United States, and Nuevo Leon in Mexico. It's common names are the Showy sedge, and the Southwestern Showy sedge.
Carex gravida, also known as heavy-fruited sedge, heavy sedge or long-awned bracted sedge, is a tussock-forming species of perennial sedge in the family Cyperaceae. It is native to southern parts of Canada and parts of the United States.
Carex hendersonii, also known as Henderson's sedge or carex de Henderson, is a tussock-forming species of perennial sedge in the family Cyperaceae. It is native to western parts of North America.
Carex ozarkana, the Ozark sedge, is a species of flowering plant in the family Cyperaceae, native to the U.S. states of Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana.
Carex drepanorhyncha is a tussock-forming species of perennial sedge in the family Cyperaceae. It is native to South-Central China. It has three common names, which are, Drepanorhyncha Sedge, Drepanorhyncha Fox Sedge, and Drepanorhyncha Wood Sedge. It also has a Chinese common name of 镰喙薹草, or lián huì tái cǎo, meaning sicklebill.
Carex godfreyi is a tussock-forming species of perennial sedge in the family Cyperaceae. It is native to south eastern parts of the United States. It's common name is Godfrey's sedge.
Carex adelostoma is a tussock-forming species of perennial sedge in the family Cyperaceae. It is native to the subarctic areas, including Scandinavia, Russia, Canada, and Alaska. A common name is circumpolar sedge.
