Carex tenuiflora

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant in the sedge family}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = Carex tenuiflora 59724873.jpg

| image_caption = Near Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada

| status = LC

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| genus = Carex

| species = tenuiflora

| authority = Wahlenb.

| synonyms_ref =

| synonyms ={{collapsible list|

Carex arrhyncha Franch.
Carex leucolepis Turcz. ex Steud.
Carex tenuiflora var.setacea Kük.
Vignea tenuiflora (Wahlenb.) Soják

}} }}

Carex tenuiflora, the sparse-flowered sedge, is a species of flowering plant in the family Cyperaceae.

Description

Carex tenuiflora is a clump-forming perennial, grasslike plant, characterized by its combination of 2 to 4 spikes, closely clustered at the tip of the stem. Stems are three-sided and slender, reaching about 20 inches in length. Leaves are alternate, 5 to 2 mm wide, 2 to 6 inches long, and generally shorter than the flowering stems. Leaf sheaths are brownish in colour. Fruit develops from late spring to early summer, and takes the form of clusters of achenes at the end of the pistillate spike.{{Cite web |title=Carex tenuiflora (Sparse-flowered Sedge): Minnesota Wildflowers |url=https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/grass-sedge-rush/sparse-flowered-sedge |access-date=2025-01-06 |website=www.minnesotawildflowers.info |language=en}}

Distribution and habitat

Carex tenuiflora is native to the Subarctic and Hemiboreal Northern Hemisphere; Alaska, Canada, the northern US, Scandinavia, the Baltic States, all of Russia, the north Caucasus, Siberia, the Russian Far East, Mongolia, northern China, Korea, and Japan.{{cite web |url=http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:302587-1 |title=Carex tenuiflora Wahlenb. |author= |date=2017 |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=26 June 2021 }}{{cite web |url=https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/grass-sedge-rush/sparse-flowered-sedge |title=Carex tenuiflora (Sparse-flowered Sedge) |author= |date= |website=MinnesotaWildflowers.info |publisher=Minnesota Wildflowers |access-date=26 June 2021 |quote=Also known as: Thin-flowered Sedge }} It is most often found in peatlands, preferring a pH of 6.{{cite journal |title=Distribution and habitat niches of 37 peatland Cyperaceae species across a broad geographic range in Canada |year=2004 |last1=Gignac |first1=L. D. |last2=Gauthier |first2=R. |last3=Rochefort |first3=L. |last4=Bubier |first4=J. |journal=Canadian Journal of Botany |volume=82 |issue=9 |pages=1292–1313 |doi=10.1139/B04-081 }}