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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. | |||||||||
| NERVELESS WOODLAND SEDGE | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Carex leptonervia | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Nerveless woodland sedge grows 30 to 40 cm tall from thin rhizomes. The stems are loosely tufted. There are usually two or three leaves on the fertile stems but the majority of the leaves are in tufts on sterile stems. The male and female flowers are in separate spikes. The terminal spike is male-flowered, while the lower spikes are female-flowered. The highest female-flowered spike is level with the male spike. The female flower scales are dry and membranous except for a green midrib that ends in a sharp point. The perigynia are sharply three-angled. These structures have two distinct nerves and 12 to 18 less obvious ones. The female flowers have three stigmas. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Nerveless woodland sedge grows in wet, mossy, spruce woods and shrub thickets. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This species is found in central Saskatchewan in the Mid-Boreal Upland ecoregion. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Nerveless woodland sedge is endangered in Saskatchewan because it is rare in the province. Most local populations are small and some are in areas of planned developments. The populations of nerveless woodland sedge in Saskatchewan represent a western range extension for this species. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY NERVELESS WOODLAND SEDGE | |||||||||
| * Are the stems loosely tufted? * Do the fertile stems have only two or three leaves? * Are the female flower scales membranous except for the green midrib? * Did you find it in central Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found nerveless woodland sedge! | |||||||||
