Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center


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Aquatic and Wetland Vascular Plants of the Northern Great Plains

62. Cyperaceae, the Sedge Family

2. Carex L. -- Sedge

57. Carex vulpinoidea Michx. -- Fox sedge

Densely tufted from short rootstocks; culms stiff, sharply trigonous, not winged nor flattened under pressure, 3-9 dm long, shorter than to exceeding the leaves. Leaves 2-4 mm wide; sheaths tight, cross-rugulose and hyaline ventrally, green or green-and-white mottled dorsally. Spikes bisexual, androgynous, more than 10, closely aggregate or separate in the lower part, in oblong to cylindric heads 3-9 cm long, with 2-several spikes per branch at the lower nodes; bracts setaceous, slightly to much exceeding the spikes, often 5 cm or more long; pistillate scales aristate, the awns about equaling to much exceeding the perigynia. Perigynia yellowish-green, becoming stramineous or brown at maturity, plano-convex, ovate to suborbicular, 2-3 mm long, ca. 1/2 as wide, finely few- to several-nerved dorsally, nerveless ventrally, abruptly contracted to the smooth to serrulate, bidentate beak which is ca. 1/3 the length of the entire perigynium; achenes lenticular, 1-1.5 mm long; stigmas 2, the style base swollen above the achene. Jun--Aug. Wet meadows, marshes, shores, stream banks, ditches, springs and other wet places; very common; (Newf. to B.C., s to FL, TX, CO, AZ and OR).


Carex vulpinoides (from Hermann 1970).

Previous Section -- Carex viridula Michx.
Return to Family -- Cyperaceae - The Sedge Family
Next Section -- Cyperus acuminatus Torr. & Hook.

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