OregonFlora: Carex bebbii vs. Carex klamathensis

	Carex bebbii	Carex klamathensis
	Bebb's sedge	Klamath sedge
Habit	Plants cespitose, 20–90 cm tall.	Plants rhizomatous, the rhizomes 1–2 mm in diameter; culms 30–100 cm tall, phyllopodic; plant bases whitish or pale to medium brown.
Leaves	1.7–4.2 mm wide.	blades flat; the wider blades 2–6 mm wide, glaucous.
Inflorescences	1.1–3 cm × 5–14 mm; spikes 3–10, overlapping; more or less round, gynaecandrous; distinct.	lateral spikes usually 1–3; female, 1–2.5 cm × 4–7 mm; terminal spike usually male, 1.3–2.7 cm × 1–5 mm; but in some populations mostly gynaecandrous, 50–200 flowers.
Perigynia	ovate or elliptic; plano-convex, 2.5–3.8 × (1)1.2–2 mm, spreading, green when young, becoming reddish brown, with 3+ dorsal veins; the ventral side with 1–3 faint veins or veined only near the base; wings 0.2–0.5 mm wide; beak tips reddish brown, winged; and more or less ciliate-serrulate, 1.2–2.2 mm from top of achene to tip of beak; stigmas 2.	obovate or rarely fusiform, 2.1–3.6 × 0.6–1.8 mm, light green, tan, or whitish, sometimes marked with brown distally, with 8–20 faint to strong veins; beak short, often bent toward the dorsal side; stigmas 3.
Achenes	lenticular, 1–1.3 × 0.6–0.9 mm, 0.3–0.4 mm thick.	trigonous.
Female scales	2.5–3.5 mm long; shorter and narrower than their perigynia; reddish brown; mid-stripe green; pale, or brown.	1.9–2.8 mm long; gold to brown with paler midrib, obtuse, sometimes with an awn up to 1.5 mm long.
2n	=68, 70.

	Carex bebbii	Carex klamathensis
Distribution	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	[BONAP county map]
Discussion	Meadows, stream banks, irrigation ponds and roadside ditches. 700–1300 m. BW, Lava. ID, WA; north to AK, east to Newfoundland. Native. Carex bebbii is difficult to key but easier to recognize by its reddish brown inflorescences with rounded spikes. Carex subfusca has similarly small perigynia but its inflorescences are green, straw-colored, or light brown, and proportionately narrower. Carex pachystachya has larger, darker inflorescences. Both these species have beak tips unwinged and entire for 0.4–0.7 mm from the tip, unlike C. bebbii.	Springs and fens on serpentine substrates, often with Darlingtonia californica, usually in a dense thatch of old leaves. 300–1100 m. Sisk. CA. Native. Carex klamathensis is a rare, glaucous, rhizomatous sedge of serpentine fens, with pale, veined, somewhat papillose perigynia that usually have the apex turned to the back. Carex livida has longer perigynia that are consistently spindle-shaped. Carex hassei can be very similar and grows in the same habitat but has two stigmas per flower or, in southwestern Oregon, a mix of two-stigma and three-stigma fertile flowers. Carex klamathensis may have two stigmas on aborted flowers.
Source	Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 191 Barbara Wilson, Richard Brainerd, Nick Otting	Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 209 Barbara Wilson, Richard Brainerd, Nick Otting
Sibling taxa	C. abrupta, C. agastachys, C. amplifolia, C. angustata, C. aperta, C. aquatilis, C. arcta, C. arenaria, C. atherodes, C. athrostachya, C. atrosquama, C. aurea, C. barbarae, 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	C. abrupta, C. agastachys, C. amplifolia, C. angustata, C. aperta, 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. 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
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	Local floras: CA, OR Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, 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 klamathensis

Bebb's sedge

Klamath sedge

Habit

Plants cespitose, 20–90 cm tall.

Plants rhizomatous, the rhizomes 1–2 mm in diameter; culms 30–100 cm tall, phyllopodic; plant bases whitish or pale to medium brown.

Leaves

1.7–4.2 mm wide.

blades flat; the wider blades 2–6 mm wide, glaucous.

Inflorescences

1.1–3 cm × 5–14 mm;

spikes 3–10, overlapping; more or less round, gynaecandrous; distinct.

lateral spikes usually 1–3; female, 1–2.5 cm × 4–7 mm; terminal spike usually male, 1.3–2.7 cm × 1–5 mm; but in some populations mostly gynaecandrous, 50–200 flowers.

Perigynia

ovate or elliptic; plano-convex, 2.5–3.8 × (1)1.2–2 mm, spreading, green when young, becoming reddish brown, with 3+ dorsal veins; the ventral side with 1–3 faint veins or veined only near the base;

wings 0.2–0.5 mm wide;

beak tips reddish brown, winged; and more or less ciliate-serrulate, 1.2–2.2 mm from top of achene to tip of beak;

stigmas 2.

obovate or rarely fusiform, 2.1–3.6 × 0.6–1.8 mm, light green, tan, or whitish, sometimes marked with brown distally, with 8–20 faint to strong veins;

beak short, often bent toward the dorsal side;

stigmas 3.

Achenes

lenticular, 1–1.3 × 0.6–0.9 mm, 0.3–0.4 mm thick.

trigonous.

Female scales

2.5–3.5 mm long; shorter and narrower than their perigynia; reddish brown; mid-stripe green; pale, or brown.

1.9–2.8 mm long; gold to brown with paler midrib, obtuse, sometimes with an awn up to 1.5 mm long.

=68, 70.

Carex klamathensis

Distribution

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Discussion

Meadows, stream banks, irrigation ponds and roadside ditches. 700–1300 m. BW, Lava. ID, WA; north to AK, east to Newfoundland. Native.

Carex bebbii is difficult to key but easier to recognize by its reddish brown inflorescences with rounded spikes. Carex subfusca has similarly small perigynia but its inflorescences are green, straw-colored, or light brown, and proportionately narrower. Carex pachystachya has larger, darker inflorescences. Both these species have beak tips unwinged and entire for 0.4–0.7 mm from the tip, unlike C. bebbii.

Springs and fens on serpentine substrates, often with Darlingtonia californica, usually in a dense thatch of old leaves. 300–1100 m. Sisk. CA. Native.

Carex klamathensis is a rare, glaucous, rhizomatous sedge of serpentine fens, with pale, veined, somewhat papillose perigynia that usually have the apex turned to the back. Carex livida has longer perigynia that are consistently spindle-shaped. Carex hassei can be very similar and grows in the same habitat but has two stigmas per flower or, in southwestern Oregon, a mix of two-stigma and three-stigma fertile flowers. Carex klamathensis may have two stigmas on aborted flowers.

Source

Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 191
Barbara Wilson, Richard Brainerd, Nick Otting

Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 209
Barbara Wilson, Richard Brainerd, Nick Otting

Sibling taxa