Carex elongata
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{Speciesbox
|image=Carex elongata kz07.jpg
|image_caption=In Poland
|genus=Carex
|species=elongata
|authority=L.
|synonyms={{Collapsible list|
- Carex divergens {{small|Thuill.}}
- Carex gebhardii {{small|Willd.}}
- Carex multiceps {{small|Gaudin}}
- Carex multiculmis {{small|Ehrh.}}
- Carex pinnata {{small|Moench ex Rchb.}}
- Caricina elongata {{small|(L.) St.-Lag.}}
- Leptovignea elongata {{small|(L.) Fedde & J.Schust.}}
- Olotrema gebhardii {{small|(Willd.) Raf.}}
- Vignea elongata {{small|(L.) Rchb.}}
- Vignea gebhardii {{small|(Willd.) Rchb.}}
}}}}
Carex elongata, the elongated sedge, is a species of flowering plant in the family Cyperaceae, native to Europe, the Caucasus, western Siberia, Kazakhstan, and the Altai.{{cite web |url=http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:299609-1 |title=Carex elongata L. |author= |date=2017 |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=19 October 2021 }}{{cite web |title=Carex elongata elongated sedge |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/162169/i-carex-elongata-i/details |publisher=The Royal Horticultural Society |accessdate=19 October 2021 }} It occurs in boggy woodland and wet meadows, where it forms dense tussocks up to about 1 m tall.
Description
Plants occur in dense tussocks about 1 m tall and 50 cm in diameter, owing to their short rhizomes and dense production of shoots. Each trigonous stem is up to 80 cm long and rough with upward-pointing teeth on the edges. Leaves are up to 90 cm long and 5 mm wide, tapering to a fine point. The ligule, which is important for identification, is 8 mm long and sharply pointed. The inflorescence consists of up to 18 golden-tinged spikes which are fairly tightly spaced at the top of the stem. Fruits (utricles) are 4 mm long, with dark ribs, and have 2 stigmas.{{cite book |last1=Jermy |first1=A.C. | last2=Simpson|first2=D.A. |last3=Foley |first3=M.J.Y. |last4=Porter |first4=M.S | title=Sedges of the British Isles |date=2007 |publisher=Botanical Society of the British Isles |location=London |isbn=978-0-901158-35-2}} The diploid chromosome number (2n) = 56.{{cite book |last1=Stace |first1=C.A. |title=New Flora of the British Isles |date=2019 |publisher=C&M Floristics |location=Middlewood Green |isbn=978-1-5272-2630-2}}
Ecology
This is a plant of flooded woodland, in Britain it is typically found in W5 alder carr,{{cite web |last1=British Plant Communities |title=W5 Alnus glutinosa woodland |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/british-plant-communities/alnus-glutinosacarex-paniculata-woodland/F133BFE264336A3FBA6EC94F1012B1FB#}} which typically occurs in river valleys and old peat bogs.{{cite book |last1=Rodwell |first1=J.S. |title=British Plant Communities |date=1991–2000 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge}} It is thought that the seeds germinate on dead wood, which floats on the surface of the water, and thereby avoids inundation at the vulnerable seedling stage.{{cite web |last1=Lockton |first1=A.J. |title=BSBI species accounts: Carex elongata |url=http://sppaccounts.bsbi.org.uk/content/carex-elongata-0 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140228064430/http://sppaccounts.bsbi.org.uk/content/carex-elongata-0 |archive-date=28 February 2014 |url-status=dead}} In England, it used to grow on the rotten pilings of old canals, in similar conditions. It can also be found in W2 grey willow carr and W6 crack willow woodland.