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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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| DWARF BULRUSH | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Trichophorum pumilum | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Dwarf bulrush is a short plant that is less than 15 cm tall. The round, smooth stems are loosely tufted and dead leaves are present at the base. The leaves are basal or nearly so and are less than 1 cm long. The inflorescence is a solitary, terminal spikelet. The bract is shorter than the spikelet. Perianth bristles are absent. The achenes are egg-shaped. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Dwarf bulrush grows in calcareous ground-water, and in bog-like fens. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This species grows in central Saskatchewan in the Moist Mixed Grassland ecoregion. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Dwarf bulrush is threatened in Saskatchewan because it is rare and highly regionally restricted in the province. Most local populations are small. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY DWARF BULRUSH | |||||||||
| * Are the stems round and smooth? * Is the inflorescence terminal and solitary? * Are the perianth bristles absent? * Did you find it in central Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found dwarf bulrush! | |||||||||
