Aquatic and Wetland Vascular Plants of the Northern Great Plains
62. Cyperaceae, the Sedge Family
2. Carex L. -- Sedge10. Carex buxbaumii Wahl.
Loosely tufted from long rhizomes; culms arising singly or few together, lateral to previous year's shoots, trigonous, 3-10 dm long, roughened above, reddish toward the base. Leaves 1-3 mm wide, the lowest ones bladeless; lower sheaths shredding into filaments, the upper ones membranous and purple-dotted ventrally. Spikes 2-5, close together or rather remote; terminal spike gynaecandrous, slightly to considerably larger than the lateral ones, 1-3 cm long; lateral spikes pistillate, short-cylindric, sessile or nearly so; bracts leaflike, the lowest shorter than to seldom surpassing the head; scales dark brown, acute to acuminate, awn-tipped. Perigynia light green, golden toward the base, flattened or distended by the achene, elliptic, 2.5-3.5 mm long, slightly more than 1/2 as wide, 2-ribbed, with 6-8 faint nerves on each face; beak minute, bidentulate; achenes trigonous, 1.4-2 mm long; stigmas 3. Late May--Jun. Wet meadows, springs and fens; rare, c ND and nc NE; (Circumboreal, in N.Amer. s to NC, KY, AR, KS, CO, UT and CA).
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