OregonFlora: Carex aperta

	Carex aperta
	Columbia sedge
Habit	Plants rhizomatous with deep rhizomes; culms 15–90 cm tall; plant bases reddish brown.
Leaves	sheath fronts hyaline, usually with pale brown spots, not ladder-fibrillose; blades 3–6 mm wide, green.
Inflorescences	lowest bract subequal to the inflorescence; lateral 2–3 spikes female, occasionally androgynous; erect, 1.5–3.5 cm × 4–6 mm; terminal 1–2 spikes male.
Perigynia	elliptic to obovate, 2.5–2.8 × 1.5–2 mm; coppery brown; orangish; olive brown, or purplish with reddish brown spots on distal half; veinless, inflated, only loosely enclosing the achene; beak 0.1–0.3 mm, not bidentate; stigmas 2.
Achenes	lenticular.
Female scales	longer or shorter than the perigynia; reddish brown; acute.
2n	=54.

	Carex aperta
Distribution	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Discussion	Montane bogs, floodplains, lake shores, pond margins, wet prairies, and sedge meadows. 0–1400 m. BW, Casc, Col, ECas, WV. ID, WA; north to British Columbia, northeast to MT. Native. Carex aperta is distinguished by inflated perigynia in an odd shade of olive green or orange. Once a community dominant along the lower Columbia River and harvested for hay, C. aperta now thrives mainly along lake shores in the Cascades.
Source	Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 188 Barbara Wilson, Richard Brainerd, Nick Otting
Sibling taxa	C. abrupta, C. agastachys, C. amplifolia, C. angustata, C. aquatilis, C. arcta, C. arenaria, C. atherodes, C. athrostachya, C. atrosquama, C. aurea, C. barbarae, C. bebbii, C. bolanderi, C. brainerdii, C. brevior, C. breweri, C. buchananii, C. buxbaumii, C. californica, C. canescens, C. capillaris, C. capitata, C. chordorrhiza, C. comans, C. comosa, C. concinna, C. concinnoides, C. cordillerana, C. crawfordii, C. cusickii, C. davyi, C. deflexa, C. densa, C. diandra, C. disperma, C. distans, C. douglasii, C. duriuscula, C. echinata, C. exsiccata, C. feta, C. filifolia, C. fissuricola, C. fracta, C. geyeri, C. gynocrates, C. gynodynama, C. halliana, C. harfordii, C. hassei, C. haydeniana, C. hendersonii, C. heteroneura, C. hirsutella, C. hirta, C. hoodii, C. hystericina, C. idahoa, C. illota, C. infirminervia, C. inops, C. integra, C. interior, C. interrupta, C. jonesii, C. kelloggii, C. klamathensis, C. kobomugi, C. laeviculmis, C. lasiocarpa, C. leporina, C. leporinella, C. leptalea, C. leptopoda, C. limosa, C. livida, C. longii, C. luzulina, C. lyngbyei, C. macrocephala, C. macrochaeta, C. media, C. mendocinensis, C. mertensii, C. mesochorea, C. micropoda, C. microptera, C. multicaulis, C. nardina, C. nebrascensis, C. nervina, C. neurophora, C. nigricans, C. nudata, C. obnupta, C. pachycarpa, C. pachystachya, C. pansa, C. paysonis, C. pellita, C. pelocarpa, C. pendula, C. petasata, C. phaeocephala, C. pluriflora, C. praeceptorum, C. praegracilis, C. praticola, C. preslii, C. pumila, C. raynoldsii, C. retrorsa, C. rossii, C. saxatilis, C. scabriuscula, C. scirpoidea, C. scoparia, C. scopulorum, C. serpenticola, C. serratodens, C. sheldonii, C. simulata, C. spectabilis, C. stipata, C. straminiformis, C. subbracteata, C. subfusca, C. subnigricans, C. sychnocephala, C. tahoensis, C. tiogana, C. tribuloides, C. tumulicola, C. unilateralis, C. utriculata, C. vallicola, C. vernacula, C. vesicaria, C. viridula, C. vulpinoidea, C. whitneyi, C. zikae
Synonyms	Carex accedens
Web links	Local floras: BC, OR, WA Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Carex aperta

Columbia sedge

Habit

Plants rhizomatous with deep rhizomes; culms 15–90 cm tall; plant bases reddish brown.

Leaves

sheath fronts hyaline, usually with pale brown spots, not ladder-fibrillose;

blades 3–6 mm wide, green.

Inflorescences

lowest bract subequal to the inflorescence;

lateral 2–3 spikes female, occasionally androgynous; erect, 1.5–3.5 cm × 4–6 mm; terminal 1–2 spikes male.

Perigynia

elliptic to obovate, 2.5–2.8 × 1.5–2 mm; coppery brown; orangish; olive brown, or purplish with reddish brown spots on distal half; veinless, inflated, only loosely enclosing the achene;

beak 0.1–0.3 mm, not bidentate;

stigmas 2.

Achenes

lenticular.

Female scales

longer or shorter than the perigynia; reddish brown; acute.

=54.

Carex aperta

Distribution

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Discussion

Montane bogs, floodplains, lake shores, pond margins, wet prairies, and sedge meadows. 0–1400 m. BW, Casc, Col, ECas, WV. ID, WA; north to British Columbia, northeast to MT. Native.

Carex aperta is distinguished by inflated perigynia in an odd shade of olive green or orange. Once a community dominant along the lower Columbia River and harvested for hay, C. aperta now thrives mainly along lake shores in the Cascades.

Source

Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 188
Barbara Wilson, Richard Brainerd, Nick Otting

Sibling taxa

C. abrupta, C. agastachys, C. amplifolia, C. angustata, C. aquatilis, C. arcta, C. arenaria, C. atherodes, C. athrostachya, C. atrosquama, C. aurea, C. barbarae, C. bebbii, C. bolanderi, C. brainerdii, C. brevior, C. breweri, C. buchananii, C. buxbaumii, C. californica, C. canescens, C. capillaris, C. capitata, C. chordorrhiza, C. comans, C. comosa, C. concinna, C. concinnoides, C. cordillerana, C. crawfordii, C. cusickii, C. davyi, C. deflexa, C. densa, C. diandra, C. disperma, C. distans, C. douglasii, C. duriuscula, C. echinata, C. exsiccata, C. feta, C. filifolia, C. fissuricola, C. fracta, C. geyeri, C. gynocrates, C. gynodynama, C. halliana, C. harfordii, C. hassei, C. haydeniana, C. hendersonii, C. heteroneura, C. hirsutella, C. hirta, C. hoodii, C. hystericina, C. idahoa, C. illota, C. infirminervia, C. inops, C. integra, C. interior, C. interrupta, C. jonesii, C. kelloggii, C. klamathensis, C. kobomugi, C. laeviculmis, C. lasiocarpa, C. leporina, C. leporinella, C. leptalea, C. leptopoda, C. limosa, C. livida, C. longii, C. luzulina, C. lyngbyei, C. macrocephala, C. macrochaeta, C. media, C. mendocinensis, C. mertensii, C. mesochorea, C. micropoda, C. microptera, C. multicaulis, C. nardina, C. nebrascensis, C. nervina, C. neurophora, C. nigricans, C. nudata, C. obnupta, C. pachycarpa, C. pachystachya, C. pansa, C. paysonis, C. pellita, C. pelocarpa, C. pendula, C. petasata, C. phaeocephala, C. pluriflora, C. praeceptorum, C. praegracilis, C. praticola, C. preslii, C. pumila, C. raynoldsii, C. retrorsa, C. rossii, C. saxatilis, C. scabriuscula, C. scirpoidea, C. scoparia, C. scopulorum, C. serpenticola, C. serratodens, C. sheldonii, C. simulata, C. spectabilis, C. stipata, C. straminiformis, C. subbracteata, C. subfusca, C. subnigricans, C. sychnocephala, C. tahoensis, C. tiogana, C. tribuloides, C. tumulicola, C. unilateralis, C. utriculata, C. vallicola, C. vernacula, C. vesicaria, C. viridula, C. vulpinoidea, C. whitneyi, C. zikae

Synonyms

Carex accedens

Web links

Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from OregonFlora.

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Carex aperta

Carex aperta