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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. | |||||||||
| WEAK ARCTIC SEDGE | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Carex supina ssp. spaniocarpa | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Weak arctic sedge is a small, densely tufted plant that grows as tall as 20 cm from grooved, reddish-brown rhizomes. The bases of the stems are covered by dead leaves that disintegrate into reddish fibres. The leaves are about as tall as the base of the inflorescence. The terminal spike is male-flowered while the lower spikes are female-flowered. The male spike is longer than it is wide, but the female spikes are nearly round. The female flower scales are about as long as the perigynia and are reddish-brown with a translucent margin. The shiny perigynia are reddish above and bright yellow below. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Weak arctic sedge grows on open, rocky or sandy slopes. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This species is found in northern Saskatchewan in the Tazin Lake Upland and Selwyn Lake Upland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Weak arctic sedge is threatened in Saskatchewan because it is rare and local populations are small. In addition, this plant is limited to the northern part of the province. Not immediate threats are known or anticipated for this species. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY WEAK ARCTIC SEDGE | |||||||||
| * Is the plant densely tufted and less than 20
cm tall * Are the male and female flowers in separate spikes? * Are the perigynia reddish above and bright yellow below? * Did you find it in northern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found weak arctic sedge! | |||||||||
