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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE SEDGE FAMILY | |||||||||
| The sedge family is widespread around
the world, but these plants are usually found in damp habitats in subarctic
to temperate regions. The sedge family is very large, with approximately
5,315 species! There is a lot of variability within the family, but in general,
they are perennial herbs. The stems are solid and are frequently three sided.
The leaves are in three vertical rows. The basal sheath of the leaves is
closed. The leaves are linear and have the parallel venation typical of
the monocots. The inflorescences vary greatly among genera. In general,
flowers are in spikes or spikelets which are arranged into spikes, racemes,
panicles and umbrella-like clusters. In each spike there are bracts, usually
at least one per flower. The flowers are reduced, meaning that they do not
have obvious sepals and petals. The sepals and petals, if present, are often
in the form of bristles, scales or hairs. There are three stamens and two
or three carpels. The flowers may have both male and female parts or only
one of the two. In one of the largest genera, Carex, the ovary is enclosed
in a sac-like bract called the perigynium. The fruits are single-seeded,
lens-shaped or triangular structures called achenes. The sedges are an ecologically important family in Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan has 149 species belonging to the Cyperaceae. | |||||||||
| YELLOW SEDGE | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Carex cryptolepis | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Yellow sedge grows 10 to 50 cm tall from a short rhizome and fibrous roots. The stems are tufted and about 1 mm wide. The leaves are yellowish-green and hairless. The terminal spike is male-flowered, while the two to five lateral spikes are female-flowered. The upper female-flowered spikes are crowded but the lower ones can be distant. The leaf-like spike bracts can be as much as four times as long as the inflorescence. The female flower scales are yellowish-green and shorter than the perigynia. The perigynia are downwards pointing and have many nerves. The beak on the perigynium has two teeth and forms a 50° angle with the perigynium body. The flowers have three stigmas and the achenes are three-angled. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Yellow sedge grows in marshy sedge-meadow or moist mud flats along receding shores. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This species is found in north-central Saskatchewan in the Mid-Boreal Lowland, Mid-Boreal Upland, and Athabasca Plain ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Yellow sedge is threatened because of rarity in the province. This species is usually locally numerous within limited areas. No immediate threats are known at the present time. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY YELLOW SEDGE | |||||||||
| * Are the leaves and spikes yellowish-green? * Are the perigynia downward pointing? * Do the female flowers have three stigmas? * Did you find it in north central Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found yellow sedge! | |||||||||
