Carex retrorsa
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant in the sedge family}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Carex retrorsa.jpg
| image_caption = Seedheads remain on plant into winter, providing ornamental value
| image2 = Carex retrorsa grown in nursery.jpg
| image2_caption = Growing in nursery flats
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Carex
| species = retrorsa
| authority = Schwein.
| synonyms = {{collapsible list|
- Carex lupulina var. gigantoidea {{small|Dewey}}
- Carex retrorsa var. gigantoides {{small|Farw.}}
- Carex retrorsa var. multispicula {{small|Lepage}}
- Carex retrorsa var. robinsonii {{small|Fernald}}
- Carex reversa {{small|Spreng.}}
}}
}}
Carex retrorsa, (commonly known as knotsheath sedge, deflexed bottlebrush sedge, or retrorse sedge), is a widespread species of flowering plant in the family Cyperaceae, native to southern Canada and the northern United States.{{cite POWO |id=324496-2 |title=Carex retrorsa Schwein. |access-date=27 September 2022 }}{{cite book |title=CRC World Dictionary of Medicinal and Poisonous Plants: Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synonyms, and Etymology |last1=Quattrocchi |first1=Umberto |year=2012 |page=816 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=9781482250640 }}
Description
Carex retrorsa is a clump-forming, rhizomatous sedge. Leaves are bright green and smooth. Basal sheaths are generally brown to purple in colour, often splitting into a ladder shape. Inflorescence consists of multiple spikes, with the terminal spike all-staminate. Bracts are shorter than the lowest pistillate spike. Perigynia are hairless, beaked and toothed, and achenes are triangular in cross-section.{{Cite web |title=Carex retrorsa (Retrorse Sedge): Minnesota Wildflowers |url=https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/grass-sedge-rush/retrorse-sedge |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=www.minnesotawildflowers.info |language=en}}
Fruit develops in late spring to summer. Pistillate spikes form clusters of seeds. Each pistillate spike contains 20 to 150 achenes.
Distribution and habitat
Carex retrorsa thrives in stream and lake shores, marshes, swamps, water meadows and alongside waterways.{{Cite web |title=Carex retrorsa (retrorse sedge): Go Botany |url=https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/carex/retrorsa/ |access-date=2024-12-21 |website=gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org}} Preferring wet areas and tolerant of some shade, it is available from speciality nurseries for such uses as ecological restoration projects, erosion control, and rain gardens.{{cite web |last1=Baskin |first1=Carol C. |date=2003 |title=Propagation protocol for production of container (plug) Carex retrorsa Schwein. plants, University of Kentucky Lexington, Kentucky. |url=https://rngr.net/npn/propagation/protocols/cyperaceae-carex-2504 |access-date=27 September 2022 |website=Native Plant Network |publisher=US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Center for Reforestation, Nurseries, and Genetic Resources.}}{{cite web |author= |date=2017 |title=Common Name: Retrorse Sedge |url=https://nanps.org/product/carex-retrorsa/# |access-date=27 September 2022 |website=nanps.org |publisher=North American Native Plant Society}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q15581403}}
Category:Flora of Western Canada
Category:Flora of Eastern Canada
Category:Flora of the Northwestern United States
Category:Flora of the Northeastern United States
Category:Plants described in 1824
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