Carex saxatilis
{{Short description|Species of grass-like plant}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Carex saxatilis.jpg
|status = G5
|status_system = TNC
|taxon = Carex saxatilis
|authority = L.
}}
Carex saxatilis is a species of sedge known by the common names rock sedge[http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CASA10 USDA Plants Profile] and russet sedge.{{BSBI 2007 |accessdate=2014-10-17 }}
Distribution
It has a circumboreal distribution, occurring throughout the northern latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. It occurs in Alaska, throughout most all of Canada to Greenland and in Eurasia. In North America it occurs at high elevations as far south as Utah and Colorado.Williams, Tara Y. 1990. [http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/graminoid/carsax/all.html Carex saxatilis.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110909123100/http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/graminoid/carsax/all.html |date=September 9, 2011 }} In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory.
Description
This sedge is variable in appearance. In general, it forms a tuft of grasslike stems and leaves up to 80 or 90 centimeters tall. The inflorescence has staminate spikes above spikes of pistillate flowers.[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242357445 Carex saxatilis.] Flora of North America.
Ecology
This sedge is a dominant or codominant species in several types of wetlands among other sedges. In more southerly regions it occurs near streams and lakes. It may not compete successfully with other vegetation in southern regions, and it may be found growing in only the wettest habitat where other plants will not grow.Aiken, S.G., et al. 2007. [https://nature.ca/aaflora/data/www/cycasx.htm Carex saxatilis.] Flora of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: Descriptions, Illustrations, Identification, and Information Retrieval. NRC Research Press, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa. It grows in water or saturated substrates, but sometimes in drier sites like meadows. It may be associated with bluejoint reedgrass (Calamagrostis canadensis), tufted hairgrass (Deschamsia caespitosa), variableleaf pondweed (Potamogeton gramineus), subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa), lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii), and quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides).
References
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External links
- [https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.156981/Carex_saxatilis NatureServe Explorer - Carex saxatilis]
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