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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. | |||||||||
| FEW-FLOWERED SEDGE | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Carex pauciflora | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Few-flowered sedge grows as tall as 30 cm from a thin creeping rhizome. The stems are solitary or in small tufts. The leaves are stiff and inrolled. The spike is solitary at the end of the stem and has no bract associated with it. The spike has the male flowers above the female flowers. There are only one or two male flowers and two to six female flowers per plant. At maturity, the perigynia are bright yellowish-brown. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Few-flowered sedge prefers wet sedge meadows, fens, and bogs. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This species is found in northern and central Saskatchewan in the Mid-Boreal Upland, Athabasca Plain, and Churchill River Upland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Few-flowered sedge is vulnerable in Saskatchewan because it is uncommon. It occurs over a relatively large range in the province, but there are only a few known localities. Population sizes vary. No immediate threats are known at present. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY FEW-FLOWERED SEDGE | |||||||||
| * Are there one to two male flowers and two to
six female flowers per spike? * Is there only one spike per plant? * Are the male flowers above the female flowers in the different spikes? * Did you find it in northern or central Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found few-flowered sedge! | |||||||||
