Carex monostachya
{{Short description|Species of sedge}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Die Pflanzenwelt Afrikas, insbesondere seiner tropischen Gebiete - Grundzge der Pflanzenverbreitung im Afrika und die Charakterpflanzen Afrikas (1910) (20930514472).jpg
| status = VU
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| display_parents = 2
| genus = Carex
| parent = Carex sect. Longespicatae
| species = monostachya
| authority = A.Rich.
}}
Carex monostachya is a species of sedge native to the mountains of East Africa.
Distribution and ecology
Carex monostachya lives at altitudes of {{convert|2700|-|4000|m}} above sea level in Afromontane region, including Mount Kenya, the Aberdare Range and Mount Elgon. It grows in the upper bamboo and Hagenia forests, in grassland in the ericaceous belt, and in shallow water near glaciers.
Carex monostachya can be the dominant species in the bogs found on the mountains' higher reaches. Other plants found in the same habitat include the giant senecios of the genus Dendrosenecio, the gentian Swertia crassiuscula, the buttercup Ranunculus oreophytus and the thistle Carduus keniensis.{{cite book |author=Alex Stewart |year=2012 |title=Kilimanjaro: a Complete Trekker's Guide: Preparations, practicalities and trekking routes to the 'Roof of Africa' |publisher=Cicerone Press |isbn=9781849656221 |chapter=Animal and plant life |page=122 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=28N6F2wBSM8C&pg=PA122}}
Taxonomy
Carex monostachya was described by Achille Richard in 1850, in his {{lang|la|Tentamen Florae Abyssinicae}}.{{cite book |author=Achille Richard |author-link=Achille Richard |year=1850 |title=Tentamen Florae Abyssinicae |volume=2 |pages=512–513 |chapter=Carex monostachya |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/7777#page/513/mode/1up}}