Carex eburnea

Carex eburnea, known as ivory sedge,[1] ebony sedge,[2] and bristleleaf or bristle-leaved sedge,[3][4][5] is a small and slender sedge native to North America, from Alaska and Newfoundland south to central Mexico (San Luis Potosí and Querétaro).[6]

Carex eburnea

Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Cyperaceae
Genus: Carex
Subgenus: Carex subg. Carex
Section: Carex sect. Albae
Species:
C. eburnea
Binomial name
Carex eburnea

Description
illustration

Ivory sedge is a clump-forming sedge that spreads gradually by slender, light brown rhizomes to form colonies.[1] It has narrow leaves, 0.2 to 1 mm (0.008 to 0.039 in) wide and 3 to 21 cm (1 to 8 in) long, that grow from the base of the plant and alternately on the culms (stems). The culms are longer than the leaves, 7 to 31 cm (2 3⁄4 to 12 1⁄4 in) long.[7] The bases of the leaves and culms are wrapped in a light brown sheath. The leaves dry up after the growing season and persist at least until the next spring. [1]

Each inflorescence (flower cluster), at the end of a culm, has one staminate (male) spike above two to three pistillate (female) spikes, each enclosed at the base by a tubular bract.[1] There are 3 to 10 florets in each pistillate spike. The scales under the florets are white and translucent.

Pollinated florets produce three-sided[1] seeds (achenes) that are glossy blackish-brown when ripe, 1.5–2.2 mm (0.059–0.087 in) long by 0.7–1.1 mm (0.028–0.043 in) wide.[5] The stem of the inflorescence and the stems of the pistillate spikes are very short at blooming time, but lengthen a great deal by the time the seed matures, so that the clusters of achenes overtop the withered staminate spike and the stem is always longer than the leaves.[1]

Ecology

Ivory sedge usually grows in coniferous or mixed woodlands, sometimes in fens, stable dunes, or alvar (shallow soil above limestone).[7] It prefers sandy or gravelly soil with a neutral to alkaline pH.[1]

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References
  1. Chayka, Katy; Dziuk, Peter (2016). "Carex eburnea (Ivory Sedge)". Minnesota Wildflowers.
  2. Weakley, Alan S. (2018), Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States, working draft of 20 August 2018, University of North Carolina Herbarium, North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  3. "Carex eburnea". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  4. "Carex eburnea". Native Plant Database. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  5. "Carex eburnea (bristle-leaved sedge)". Go Botany. New England Wildflower Society.
  6. "Carex eburnea". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  7. Ball, Peter W. (2002). "Carex eburnea". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). 23. New York and Oxford – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  • Carex eburnea in the CalPhotos Photo Database, University of California, Berkeley
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