Wetland Plants and Plant Communities of Minnesota and Wisconsin

STALK-GRAIN SEDGE

(Carex stipata Muhl.)


Figure 36 - Perigynium

SEDGE FAMILY (Cyperaceae)

IND. STATUS: OBL

FIELD CHARACTERISTICS: A somewhat stout perennial sedge with clustered, sharply triangular stems 3-10 dm. in height. Leaves are coarse, M-shaped, green, and usually shorter than the stem. Whitish, thin sheaths extend beyond the leaf base and are conspicuously cross-wrinkled. The lance-triangular shaped perigynia are 4-7 mm. long, sessile, and densely aggregated. The conspicuous beak of the perigynia is less than twice as long as the body, but gives the inflorescence a prickly appearance. Similar to Carex vulpinoidea, it is slightly more robust with flaccid stems.

ECOLOGICAL NOTES: A common sedge that usually occurs in shaded to partially shaded wet basins and marshes. However, it may also occur in wet ditches and other open wet habitats.

SOURCE: Gleason and Cronquist (1991); Swink and Wilhelm (1994); Voss (1972).

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