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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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| WHITE BEAKSEDGE | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Rhynchospora alba | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| White beaksedge grows up to 75 cm tall and is densely tufted from fibrous roots. The stems are slender and obscurely three-angled to round. The thread-like leaves are mostly taller than the stem and taper to the tip. The inflorescence consists of one to three clusters of spikelets. One spikelet is terminal and there are one or two stalked spikelets from the upper leaf axils. The inflorescence bracts are shorter than the terminal cluster of spikelets. The spikelets are milky white to whitish-brown. The perianth bristles are slightly longer than the achene and are barbed. There are one or two brownish-green achenes per spikelet. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| White cottongrass grows in shore fens and treed bogs. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This species grows in northern and central Saskatchewan in the Boreal Transition, Mid-Boreal Upland, Churchill River Upland, and Athabasca Plain ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| White beaksedge is vulnerable in Saskatchewan. This species is apparently secure, with numerous known localities, but still seems to be less common than other species. No immediate threats are known for this species. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY WHITE BEAKSEDGE | |||||||||
| * Are the spikelets white to whitish-brown? * Is there one terminal spikelet and one or two spikelets from the upper leaf axils? * Are the stems densely tufted? * Did you find it in northern or central Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found white beaksedge! | |||||||||
