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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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| CLINTON’S BULRUSH | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Trichophorum clintonii | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Clinton’s bulrush grows to 30 cm tall from a short rootstock. The stems are densely tufted, three-angled and rough on the angles. The lower leaf sheaths are orange to dark brown. The leaves are basal or nearly so and may be as long as the stem, except when the plant is in fruit, at which time the leaves are much shorter than the stem. The inflorescence is made of a terminal, solitary spikelet. The bracts are shorter than or equal to the spikelet and have a short abrupt point on the tip. The spikelets are orange-brown to dark brown in colour. Each flower has three to six perianth bristles that are shorter than the achenes. The achenes are three-angled. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Clinton’s bulrush grows in moist, sandy woods. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This species grows in west-central Saskatchewan in the Boreal Transition ecoregion. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Clinton’s bulrush is endangered in Saskatchewan because it is rare and highly regionally restricted in the province. Local population sizes vary and are threatened by planned developments. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY CLINTON’S BULRUSH | |||||||||
| * Are the stems three-angled and rough? * Is the inflorescence terminal and solitary? * Are the perianth bristles shorter than the achene? * Did you find it in west-central Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found Clinton’s bulrush! | |||||||||
