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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. | |||||||||
| HEAVY SEDGE | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Carex gravida var. gravida | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Heavy sedge grows as tall as 70 cm from a horizontal rhizome and thick fibrous roots. The stems are loosely tufted. The old leaf sheaths at the base of the stem shred with age. The stem is sharply three-angled but is not wing-margined. The leaves are shorter than the stem. The inflorescence is made of six to 10 spikes in an oval cluster. The spike bracts are reduced to green, thread-like awns. The spikes have the male flowers above the female flowers. The female flower scales are clear with a green midrib. The scales may have an awn or the tip is tapered to a long point. The perigynia are pointing upwards or outwards. These structures are wider and longer than the scales. The beak has two teeth that spread away from each other. Each female flower has two stigmas. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Heavy sedge grows in woods or thickets, usually on moist soils. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This species is found in southeastern Saskatchewan in the Mixed Grassland and Moist Mixed Grassland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Heavy sedge is endangered in Saskatchewan because it is rare. It is regionally restricted to the southeastern region of the province but exists in areas of planned developments. This species is almost always locally sparse. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY HEAVY SEDGE | |||||||||
| * Are the spike bracts thread-like? * Are the male flowers above the female flowers in the spikes? * Are the perigynia pointing upwards or outwards? * Did you find it in southeastern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found heavy sedge! | |||||||||
