Carex pauciflora

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Carex pauciflora
Carex pauciflora flower (05).jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Cyperaceae
Genus: Carex
Species:
C. pauciflora
Binomial name
Carex pauciflora

Carex pauciflora, the few-flowered sedge, [2] is a perennial species of sedge in the family Cyperaceae native to bogs and fens in cool temperate, subarctic, and mountainous regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The specific epithet pauciflora refers to the Latin term for 'few flowered'. [3] [4]

Contents

Description

Carex pauciflora grows to 60 centimetres (24 in) tall at most, although it more commonly grows to 10–40 centimetres (3.9–15.7 in) tall. It is a rhizomatous perennial with culms that grow alone or in diffuse clusters. [5] A survey of populations in Estonia assessed a mean rhizome length of 4.1 centimetres (1.6 in), although rhizomes up to 35 centimetres (14 in) long have been recorded. [6] The blades may be up to 13 centimetres (5.1 in) long and 1.6 millimetres (0.063 in) wide, and no more than three blades occur on each culm. [5] Every part of the plant is hairless. [7]

Each flower only contains either male or female reproductive structures, although the plants themselves are monoecious. Each culm bears only one spike, with female flowers located below the male flowers on the spike. [8] Female flowers may be less well-developed in unfavorable habitats. [9]

Carex pauciflora seeds are dispersed mechanically. The perigynium is launched outward when it comes into contact with an object and tissue at its base is compressed, which then acts as a spring when the pressure is released. [10]

Distribution and habitat

Carex pauciflora has a circumboreal distribution, occurring in cool temperate and subarctic areas throughout the Northern Hemisphere. It grows in bogs and other wet areas with acidic soil. [1] It is known to occur at elevations ranging from 75–1,390 metres (246–4,560 ft) in the US state of Washington [5] where it is classified as S2 (imperiled) by NatureServe, [11] although it is classified globally as a species of least concern by the IUCN Red List. [1] Populations are known from every Canadian province or territory except Nunavut, although its presence was only discovered in the Northwest Territory in 2013, at a site near Fort Simpson. [12] In Ukraine it is present in bogs and fens in the Carpathians [13] and in the Ovruch Raion of the Zhytomyr Oblast near the border with Belarus. [14]

Recreational activity threatens some populations in North America. [5] The species has declined in Estonia due to development of its wetland habitats, although it has not been as severely impacted as some other sedge species. [6] Populations in the Ukrainian Carpathians are threatened by climate change. The bogs that Carex pauciflora inhabits in the Ukrainian Carpathians are drying out and being invaded by shrubs, and fens that the sedge also inhabits are being invaded by trees and shrubs such as Pinus mugo , Alnus alnobetula , Salix silesiaca , and Picea abies . Manual removal of more competitive non-wetland plants has been suggested as a conservation measure. [13]

Related Research Articles

<i>Carex</i> Genus of flowering plants

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.

Yanal Bog is a 1.6 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the southern edge of the North Somerset Levels, just north of the village of Sandford, North Somerset. It was notified as an SSSI in 1988.

<i>Carex chordorrhiza</i> Species of grass-like plant

Carex chordorrhiza, commonly called creeping sedge or string sedge, is a species of perennial plant in the family Cyperaceae with Holarctic distribution growing in acidic bogs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purple moor grass and rush pastures</span> One of UKs natural habitats

Purple moor grass and rush pastures is a type of Biodiversity Action Plan habitat in the UK. It occurs on poorly drained neutral and acidic soils of the lowlands and upland fringe. It is found in the South West of England, especially in Devon.

<i>Carex riparia</i> Species of grass-like plant

Carex riparia, the greater pond sedge, is a species of sedge found across Europe and Asia. It grows in a variety of wet habitats, and can be a dominant species in some swamps. It is Britain's largest Carex, growing up to 130 cm tall, with glaucous leaves up to 160 cm long. It hybridises with a number of other Carex species, including the closely related Carex acutiformis – the lesser pond sedge. A variegated cultivar is grown as an ornamental grass.

<i>Carex hirta</i> Species of grass-like plant

Carex hirta, the hairy sedge or hammer sedge, is a species of sedge native across Europe. It has characteristic hairy leaves and inflorescences, and is the type species of the genus Carex.

<i>Carex binervis</i> European species of sedge with an Atlantic distribution

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.

<i>Carex brunnescens</i> Species of grass-like plant

Carex brunnescens, the brownish sedge or green bog sedge, is a species of plant in the sedge family (Cyperaceae). It has a circumboreal distribution, and is native to North America and Eurasia. In the United States it is primarily found in the Northeast and Midwest extending south into the Appalachian Mountains, with disjunct populations westward in the Rocky Mountains. It has a wide-ranging natural habitat, is in found in forests, bogs, fens, and rock outcrops.

<i>Carex lacustris</i> Species of grass-like plant

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.

<i>Carex capillacea</i> Species of grass-like plant

Carex capillacea, common name yellowleaf sedge in Tasmania, is a species of sedge found in Assam, the far east of Russia, New Guinea, south east Australia, New Zealand, Malesia, China, Japan and India.

<i>Carex pulicaris</i> Species of grass-like plant

Carex pulicaris, the flea sedge, is a species of sedge in the genus Carex native to Europe.

<i>Carex rosea</i> Species of sedge

Carex rosea, the rosy sedge, is a flowering plant and part of the family Cyperaceae. Synonyms for Carex rosea include Carex concoluta, and Carex flaccidula. It is native to central and eastern North America and it exists in wet to dry soils. Carex rosea can be found in shores of streams and bottomlands, as well as ponds. It is known to have good adaptations to dry-shade locations. It is an evergreen plant which is easy to grow.

<i>Carex pumila</i> Species of grass-like plant

Carex pumila, commonly known as strand sedge or spreading sedge, is a species of sedge of the family Cyperaceae.

<i>Carex magellanica</i> Species of grass-like plant

Carex magellanica, or the boreal bog sedge, is a Carex species that is native to North America. It is listed as endangered in Connecticut.

<i>Carex brevior</i> Species of grass-like plant

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.

<i>Carex hostiana</i> Species of plant in the genus Carex

Carex hostiana, the tawny sedge, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Carex, native to Europe and northeast Canada, and extinct in Massachusetts. It is a member of the Carex flava species complex.

<i>Carex cruenta</i> Species of sedge

Carex cruenta is a tussock-forming species of perennial sedge in the family Cyperaceae. It is native to parts of Asia, from Pakistan in the west to south central parts of China in the east.

<i>Carex gaudichaudiana</i> Species of plant

Carex gaudichaudiana, also known as fen sedge, is a tussock-forming species of perennial sedge in the family Cyperaceae. It is native to parts of Australia and New Zealand.

Carex cephalotes, also known as wire-head sedge, is a tussock-forming species of perennial sedge in the family Cyperaceae. It is native to south eastern Australia and New Zealand.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Landsdown, R. V. (2016). "Few-flowered Sedge". IUCN Red List. ISSN   2307-8235. Archived from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  2. ↑ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  3. ↑ Allen J. Coombes The A to Z of Plant Names: A Quick Reference Guide to 4000 Garden Plants , p. 106, at Google Books
  4. ↑ D. Gledhill The Names of Plants , p. 220, at Google Books
  5. 1 2 3 4 Camp, Pamela; Gamon, John G. (February 2011). "Carex pauciflora" (PDF). Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Washington. University of Washington Press. ISBN   978-0-29-599092-7. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 October 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  6. 1 2 Kull, Thea; Kull, Tiiu (2006). "Habitat loss and reproduction biology as related to decline in rare Carex species". Ekológia (Bratislava)[Ecology (Bratislava)]. De Gruyter. 25 (3): 280–288.
  7. ↑ Hitchcock, Charles Leo; Cronquist, Arthur (October 2018) [1973]. Flora of the Pacific Northwest: An Illustrated Manual (2nd ed.). University of Washington Press. pp. 722–727. ISBN   978-0-29-574288-5.
  8. ↑ Cochrane, Theodore S. (2002). Flora of North America North of Mexico. Vol. 23. Oxford University Press. p. 560. ISBN   0-19-515207-7. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  9. ↑ Sosnovska, S. V. (2015). "Stateva struktura populyatsiy Carex pauciflora i C. dioica (Cyperaceae) v Ukrayini" Статеве структура популяцій Carex pauciflora і C. dioica (Cyperaceae) в Україні [Sexual structure of populations of Carex pauciflora and Carex dioica (Cyperaceae) in Ukraine]. Ukrayins'kyy Botanichnyy ZhurnalУкраїнський Ботанічний Журнал[Ukrainian Botanical Journal] (in Ukrainian). National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. 72 (3): 229–236. doi: 10.15407/ukrbotj72.03.229 .
  10. ↑ Hutton, E. E. (December 1976). "Dissemination of Perigynia in Carex pauciflora". Castanea . Southern Appalachian Botanical Society. 41 (4): 346–348. eISSN   1938-4386. ISSN   0008-7475. JSTOR   4032727.
  11. ↑ "Carex pauciflora". NatureServe. 30 June 2023. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  12. ↑ Garon-Labrecque, Marie-Ève; Léveillé-Bourret, Étienne; Higgins, Kellina; Sonnentag, Oliver (October 2015). "Additions to the boreal flora of the Northwest Territories with a preliminary vascular flora of Scotty Creek". The Canadian Field-Naturalist . Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club. 129 (4): 349–367. doi: 10.22621/cfn.v129i4.1757 – via PKP Publishing Services.
  13. 1 2 Cherepanyn, R. M. (March 2018). "Effect of climate changes on the habitat of rare arctic-alpine plant species in high mountain part of the Ukrainian Carpathians". Biologichni StudiiБіологічні Студії[Biological Studies] (in Ukrainian). University of Lviv. 12 (1): 73–86. doi: 10.30970/sbi.1201.544 . Archived from the original on 8 July 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  14. ↑ Sosnovska, Svitlana; Danylyk, Ivan; Serednytska, Svitlana (March 2013). "Distribution of the subgenus Psyllophora (Degl.) Peterm. (Carex L.) in Ukraine". Biodiversity Research and Conservation. De Gruyter. 29: 35–42. doi: 10.2478/biorc-2013-0009 . eISSN   2080-945X. ISSN   1897-2810.
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