|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
|||||||||
| 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. | |||||||||
| SMOOTH SUMAC | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Carex echinata ssp. echinata | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Star sedge grows as tall as 40 cm from fibrous roots. Unlike many sedges, the rhizomes are not obvious. The stems are slender and in tufts. There are three to six leaves per stem. The leaves can be as long as 40 cm and up to 2.5 mm wide. The inflorescence is made of three to eight spikes. The terminal spike has female flowers above the male flowers. The remaining spikes usually only have female flowers, though they may have a small number of male flowers below the female flowers. The perigynia are outward or downward pointing when mature. The perigynia are dark to reddish-brown in colour. These structures have two to 14 veins on the underside but are usually without veins on the upper surface. The beak is small and is finely saw-toothed on the margin. Each flower has two stigmas and the achenes are lens-shaped. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Star sedge grows in bogs, marshes and swamps. It prefers peaty or sandy shores, usually with acidic soils. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This species is found in eastern Saskatchewan
in the Moist Mixed Grassland, Boreal Transition, Mid-Boreal Upland, and Churchill River Upland ecoregions. |
|||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Star sedge is threatened because it is rare or uncommon in Saskatchewan and most local populations are small. No immediate threats are known at the present time. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY STAR SEDGE | |||||||||
| * Are the perigynia outward to downward pointing? * Does the terminal spike have female flowers above the male flowers? * Do the female flowers have two stigmas? * Did you find it in eastern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found star sedge! | |||||||||
