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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. |
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| SMOOTH SAWGRASS | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Cladium mariscoides | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Smooth sawgrass grows up to 100 cm tall from rhizomes. The stems are three sided and up to 2 mm wide. The leaves are smooth, or nearly so, and may be folded at the centre. The inflorescence is made of several spikelets in groups of three to five. Within the spikelets, there is one fertile flower and several spirally arranged scales. The flowers have no perianth bristles. The achenes are round in cross section and lack a distinct terminal swelling. The achenes are glossy and whitish or pale green. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Smooth sawgrass grows in fresh or brackish swamps, marshes, and shores in forests. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This species is found eastern Saskatchewan in the Boreal Transition ecoregion. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Smooth sawgrass is endangered in Saskatchewan because it is extremely rare and is found in only one location. The local populations are small and cover a small area. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY SMOOTH SAWGRASS | |||||||||
| * Are there several spikelets arranged in umbrella-like
clusters? * Is there only one fertile flower per spikelet? * Are the flower scales spirally arranged? * Did you find it in eastern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found smooth sawgrass! | |||||||||
