Aquatic and Wetland Vascular Plants of the Northern Great Plains
62. Cyperaceae, the Sedge Family
2. Carex L. -- Sedge25. Carex haydenii Dewey
Loosely tufted from short rhizomes; culms arising from the previous year's tufts of leaves, enveloped at the base by the dried leaves, trigonous, 3-10 dm long, usually surpassing the leaves, roughened above. Leaves green, 2-5 mm wide, the lower ones bladeless, merely sheathing the base of the culm; leaf sheaths white to yellowish-hyaline ventrally, green dorsally. Spikes 3-6, the upper 1-3 staminate, the terminal one largest, 2-5 cm long, the others much smaller, the lower 2-3 pistillate or androgynous, 1-3 cm long; lowest bract leaflike, sheathless, usually shorter than the head; pistillate scales acuminate, longer than the perigynia. Perigynia pale brown at maturity, often with darker brown spots, biconvex, round-obovate, inflated at the apex, 2-2.5 mm long, 3/5 to about as wide; beak minute; achenes lenticular, ca. 1 mm long; stigmas 2. Late May--Jul. Wet meadows, marshes and stream banks; rare, with records from Dunn Co., ND, Pennington and Custer Counties, SD, and Lincoln Co., NE; (N.B. to ND, s to PA, IN, MO and NE).
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