Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center


Home	About NPWRC	Our Science	Staff	Employment	Contacts	Common Questions	About the Site

Aquatic and Wetland Vascular Plants of the Northern Great Plains

62. Cyperaceae, the Sedge Family

2. Carex L. -- Sedge

41. Carex prairea Dewey

Tufted, forming dense clumps from short rootstocks; culms sharply trigonous, 5-10 dm long, somewhat exceeding the leaves. Leaves 2-3 mm wide; sheaths hyaline ventrally, copper-colored at least at the mouth, prolonged 2-3 mm beyond the base of the blade. Spikes bisexual, androgynous, ovoid, 4-7 mm long, the lower ones usually separate, in oblong to linear-oblong heads 3-8 cm long; bracts much reduced, occasionally exceeding the spike; pistillate scales reddish-brown, acuminate, as long as and mostly concealing the perigynia. Perigynia brown, dull, plano-convex, lanceolate-ovoid, (2)2.4-3 mm long, 1/2 as wide, few-nerved at the base ventrally, truncate at the base, tapering to a serrulate, obliquely cut beak which is ca. 1/2 the total length of the perigynium; achenes lenticular, 1-1.2 mm long; stigmas 2. Jun--Jul. Springs, fens, fresh wet meadows and boggy places; scattered from e and c ND to c and w NE; (N.S. to B.C., s to NJ, OH, IA and NE). C. prarisa Dewey.
GIF- Distribution Map

Previous Section -- Carex praegracilis W. Boott -- Clustered field sedge
Return to Family -- Cyperaceae - The Sedge Family
Next Section -- Carex pseudo-cyperus L.

Accessibility FOIA Privacy Policies and Notices

U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/plants/vascplnt/species/cprai.htm
Page Contact Information: Webmaster
Page Last Modified: Saturday, 02-Feb-2013 06:41:44 EST
Menlo Park, CA [caww54]