|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
|||||||||
| 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. |
|||||||||
| STRAW-COLOURED FLATSEDGE | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Cyperus strigosus | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Straw-coloured flatsedge grows to 50 cm tall. The roots are interesting because they have a hard, swollen part, just under the ground. The stems are three-sided and are hairless except for a few prickles. The leaves are long and grass-like and are usually rough to touch. The inflorescence is made of one to four spikes. Each of the elongated spikes consists of 12 to 50 spikelets. The spikes are on stalks up to 6 cm long. The floral scales subtending each flower are straw-coloured to pale brown. The fruits are three-sided, purplish-brown achenes. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Straw-coloured flatsedge grows on wet shores, damp forest, moist meadows and swamps. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This species grows in south-central Saskatchewan in the Moist Mixed Grassland ecoregion. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Straw-coloured flatsedge is endangered or extirpated because it is extremely rare. This species is highly regionally restricted in the province. Immediate threats to this species habitat have been identified. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY STRAW-COLOURED FLATSEDGE | |||||||||
| * Do the roots have a hard, swollen structure? * Are the spikes elongated? * Are the plants greater than 20 cm tall? * Did you find it in south central Saskatchewan? |
|||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found straw-coloured flatsedge! | |||||||||
