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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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| PALE BULRUSH | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Scirpus pallidus | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Pale bulrush grows to 1.5 m tall from short, tough rhizomes. The stems are usually solitary or few. The pale green stems are three-angled and are leafy on the lower half. There are five to ten leaves per stem with whitish or greenish leaf sheaths. The inflorescence is an umbrella-like grouping of clusters of spikelets. There are between 12 and 130 spikelets in each cluster and four to eight clusters. The spikelets are not stalked and appear black or brownish because of the colour of the scales. Each flower has six perianth bristles, the longest of which equals the achenes. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Pale bulrush grows on marshy shores, and in moist ravine bottoms, low meadows, and ditches. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This species grows in southeastern Saskatchewan in the Moist Mixed Grassland and Aspen Parkland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Pale bulrush is threatened because it is rare or uncommon in Saskatchewan and is restricted to the southeastern part of the province. This species is usually locally numerous, but within limited areas. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY PALE BULRUSH | |||||||||
| * Are the leaf sheaths green or whitish? * Is the inflorescence terminal and umbrella-like? * Are the stems three-angled? * Did you find it in southeastern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found pale bulrush! | |||||||||
