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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. | |||||||||
| CHAFFY SEDGE | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Carex paleacea | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Chaffy sedge can grow to as tall as 80 cm from a thick, scaly rhizome. The stems are solitary or in a small tuft. The leaves are smooth on top and bumpy on the bottom. The spikes are on thread-like stalks and are drooping. There are two to seven male spikes above the two or three female spikes. The spike bracts are leaf-like. The female flower scales are yellowish-brown with a long, rough awn. The leathery, pale brown perigynia point outward and loosely enclose the achenes. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Chaffy sedge is a boreal forest species. It prefers moist, saline soil. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This species has been recorded by Harms as present but extirpated from Saskatchewan. The W. P. Fraser Herbarium has no records of this species. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| There is no information available regarding the rarity status of this species | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY CHAFFY SEDGE | |||||||||
| * Do the female flower scales have long, rough
awns? * Are the spikes on thread-like stalks? * Are the female flowers above the male flowers in the different spikes? * Did you find it in the boreal forest? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found chaffy sedge! | |||||||||
