Carex lacustris

Carex lacustris, known as lake sedge (lucastris is from the Latin lacus, or lake), is a tufted grass-like perennial of the sedge family (Cyperaceae), native to southern Canada and the northern United States.[4] C. lacustris us an herbaceous surface-piercing plant that grows in water up to 50 cm (1.6 ft) deep, and grows 50–150 cm (1.6–4.9 ft) tall.[5] It grows well in marshes and swampy woods of the boreal forest, along river and lake shores, in ditches, marshes, swamps, and other wetland habitat.[5][4] It grows on muck, sedge peat, wet sand or silt, in filtered or full sunlight.[6][7]

Carex lacustris

Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
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. Paludosae
Species:
C. lacustris
Binomial name
Carex lacustris
Willd. 1805
US and Canadian distribution.[2]
Synonyms
  • C. riparia M.A. Curtis var. lacustris (Willd.) Kük.
  • Anithista lacustris (Willd.) Raf. 1840[3]
  • Anithista riparia Raf. 1840[3]
  • Carex riparia Muhl. 1817[3]
  • Carex riparia var. lacustris Engler 1909[3]

It's a common sedge that dominates many native wetlands, or intermixes with other sedges and grasses, and its ability to spread by rhizomes makes it a good colonizer for a large area.[8][6]

Common names

In addition to lake sedge, other non-scientific names include common lake sedge,[9] lakebank or lake-bank sedge,[10][1] hairy sedge,[10] and rip-gut sedge.[9] Its common name in French is carex lacustre.[11]

The common name should not be confused with lakeshore sedge (Carex lenticularis).

Description

Stems are typically 50–150 cm (20–59 in) tall.[4] Stems are rough to the touch, and have a triangular cross section, most distinctly near the base.[12] They are green with a conspicuously reddish to purplish tinge at the base.[13][4][8]

Leaf blades are grayish blue to dark green, grow as long or longer than the stems, and are 8–20 mm wide.[4][12] They are coarse, and their cross-section is distinctly M-shaped.[12] The sheaths around the stem are smooth, and basal (near the base) sheaths are reddened and have open, feather-like (pinnate) fibers.[8]

Flowers on C. lacustris occur along spikes or spikelets, an elongated, tightly-packed type of inflorescence (flower cluster) that contain many small florets. Plants typically have 4–8 green spikes, 2–4 upper spikes that are male (staminate spikes), and 2–4 lower spikes that are female (pistillate spikes). The male spikes are narrow, 3–4 mm wide, 1–8 cm long, and are short-lived.[4] The female spikes are thick, 10–15 mm wide, and 2–10 cm long, either sessile (stalkless) or on short stalks, with 50–100 well-separated florets. Spikes are generally erect, with lower spikes sometimes nodding, and they are sometimes compound.[4][13] The olive-green perigynium is 5.5–7.3 mm long, hairless, distinctly ribbed, and gradually tapers into a beak.[14] Thin female scales are ovate (tapered at tip) and awned, translucent to purplish or brown in color, and half the length of the perigynia.[12][13][8][4]

The fruit or nutlet is a three-sided achene with three stigmas.[13][14]

Carex lacustris has a similar habitat and appearance to Carex atherodes, known as slough sedge or awned sedge, but C. atherodes typically have hairy leaf sheaths rather than smooth, and it has longer teeth (1.5–3 mm) on its parigynia.[4]

Habitat

C. lacustris is found in shallow marshes, marsh edges, shrub-carrs, alder thickets, wet and open thickets, open swamps, wooded swamps, sedge meadows, ditches, and borders of lakes, ponds, bogs, fens, and streams.[15][8][16] It forms scattered clones or beds, and sometimes extensive stands are seen without fertile culms[15][8] It is abundant and often a dominant plant of calcareous, north-temperate wetlands.[15]

The species typically fruits from May to July.[15]

Planting

C. lacrustris can reproduce from seeds, from rhizome runners, or from shoots. It does not naturally reestablish well in isolated wetlands restoration, likely due to limited water-borne seed dispersal. It benefits from well-planned restorations with an aim of dense stands to preempt undesired aggressive species.[17]

Seeds should be stored in wet, dark, cold (4 °C) conditions for optimal germination rates. Recommended conditions for germination in a controlled environment are a cyclic diurnal temperature variation between 20 °C and 25 °C.[18][17]

Range

Native to the US and Canada,[10] almost always occurring in wetlands.[2] The full list of US states is CT, DC, DE, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SD, TN, VA, VT, WI, and WV, and the full list of Canadian provinces is AB, MB, NB, NF, NS, ON, QC, and SK.

Variants

The proposed variant Carex lacustris var. laxiflora (Dewey) is not accepted by ITIS,[10] and is considered a synonym of Carex hyalinolepis Steud. (shoreline sedge).[19] The proposed variant Carex lacustra var. gigantea is also not accepted, considered is a synonym of Carex gigantea (giant sedge).[20]

Hybrids

Rare natural hybrids of C. lacustris are known to occur with C. trichocarpa,[21] C. hyalinolepis, C. pellita, and C. utriculata.[15] The hybrids show morphological traits of both parents, and while infertile, can form extensive clones.[15] The chromosome number of the hybrid parents do not need to be the same.[21]

Conservation status

The species has not been assessed for the IUCN Red List.[22] NatureServe ranks the species global conservation status as G5 (secure - very low risk of extinction or elimination). Its national rank in Canada is N5 (secure), and NNR (not ranked) in the United States, though some individual states are ranked, ranging from imperiled on the fringes of the species' range to secure nearer the center.[1] The species is listed as "Threatened" by the states of Maryland and Tennessee, both near the southern edge of its known range.[2]

Wildlife use

Carex lacustris attracts waterfowl and songbirds, which eat its seeds, and butterflies,[13][7] including the endangered Dukes' skipper, whose larvae feed exclusively on C. lacustris in the northern part of its Michigan range.[23] Rodents and other small animals use stems as shelter and food in the winter.[13]

Pike and muskies use the plants as spawning habitat in the spring.[13]

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References
  1. "Comprehensive Report Species – Carex lacustris". NatureServe Explorer: An Online Encyclopedia of Life. NatureServe, Inc. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  2. "Name Search Results – Plants Profile for Carex lacustris (hairy sedge)". Plants Database. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  3. "Catalogue of Life – 10th December 2013 :: Species Detail". Catalogue of Life. ITIS Species 2000. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  4. Linda Kershaw (2001). Rare Vascular Plants of Alberta. University of Alberta. pp. 304–. ISBN 978-0-88864-319-3.
  5. Lahring, Heinjo (2003). Water and Wetland Plants of the Prairie Provinces. University of Regina Press. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-88977-162-8.
  6. "Plant Detail". Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. 23 December 2013.
  7. "Lake sedge (carex lacustris)" (PDF). Great Lakes Ecological Protection and Restoration. US Environmental Protection Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  8. Eggers, Steve D; Reed, Donald M. "Lake Sedge (Carex lacustris Willd.)". Wetland Plants and Plant Communities of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Jamestown, ND: US Army Corps of Engineers, St Paul District. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  9. "Carex lacustris: UW-Stevens Point Freckmann Herbarium: Plant Details Page". Robert W. Freckmann Herbarium. University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point. Archived from the original on 7 July 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  10. "ITIS Other Source search results for Cyperaceae of North America Update". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  11. "Carex lacustre". Database of Vascular Plants of Canada (VASCAN). CanadenSys. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  12. Tyma, Karli; Strojny, Carol; Carlton, Zack; Kersten, Caitlin; Pynn, Bryan; Shaw, Dan. "Lake sedge (Carex lacustris)" (PDF). Minnesota Wetland Restoration Plant ID Guide. Minnesota Board of Water & Soil Resources. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  13. Lahring, Heinjo (2003). Water and Wetland Plants of the Prairie Provinces. University of Regina Press. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-88977-162-8.
  14. "NPWRC: Wetland Plants". Wetland Plants and Plant Communities of Minnesota and Wisconsin. USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  15. "Carex lacustris". Flora of North America, eFloras.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  16. "Carex lacustrist – Michigan flora". Michigan Flora. University of Michigan Herbarium. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  17. Budelsky, Rachel; Cushing, Edward; Galatowitsch, Susan M (1999). "Establishment of native sedge vegetation in created wetlands" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  18. Budelsky, Rachel A.; Galatowitsch, Susan M. (1999). "Effects of Moisture, Temperature, and Time on Seed Germination of Five Wetland Carices: Implications for Restoration". Restoration Ecology. 7 (1): 86–97. doi:10.1046/j.1526-100X.1999.07110.x. ISSN 1061-2971.
  19. "Name Search Results – USDA PLANTS". Plants Database. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  20. "Search Results for Carex lacustris – GBIF Portal". GBIF Portal. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  21. Catling, P. M.; Reznicek, A. A.; Denford, K. (1989). "Carex lacustris×C.trichocarpa(Cyperaceae), a new natural hybrid". Canadian Journal of Botany. 67 (3): 790–795. doi:10.1139/b89-106. ISSN 0008-4026.
  22. "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Retrieved 18 December 2013. (Search for carex lacustris to verify non-assessment).
  23. "Euphyes dukesi" (PDF). =Michigan Natural Features Inventory. Michigan State University. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
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