OregonFlora: Carex echinata vs. Carex concinnoides

	Carex echinata	Carex concinnoides
	prickly sedge, star sedge	northwestern sedge
Habit	Plants cespitose, 10–90(135) cm tall.	Plants rhizomatous, the shoots usually arising singly and spaced well apart, sometimes a few together, 14–37 cm tall, arching to the ground as the perigynia mature; plant bases reddish brown.
Leaves	usually 0.7–3(3.8) mm wide.	sheath fronts membranous; mouth with minute cilia; blades 1.7–4.5 mm wide.
Inflorescences	spikes separated or crowded, usually gynaecandrous, with perigynia widely spreading or reflexed at maturity; lateral spikes 3–15.5 mm long; terminal spikes 5–24 mm long, often with a narrow male portion 2–16.5 mm long.	1.2–3.3 cm long; basal shoots absent; lowest bract reddish brown; bristle-like; sheathless, 5–8 mm long, sometimes with awn to 1(6) mm; lateral spikes 1–3, crowded near the terminal spike, 0.6–1.3 cm × 3–6 mm; terminal spike male, 0.8–2.2 cm × 1.8–3.1 mm.
Perigynia	tapered gradually to the beak; (2.6)3–4.8 mm long, green to brown, veined or veinless on the ventral surface over the achene; base swollen; pithy when mature; beak 0.9–2 mm long, 33–60% of perigynium length.	elliptic to obovoid, 2.5–3 × 1.4–1.7 mm, pubescent with straight hairs; veinless but with 2 ribs, bases succulent, withering when dry; beak 0.5 mm long; stigmas 4.
Achenes	lenticular.	rounded but with somewhat quadrangular bases.
Female scales	inconspicuous; shorter than the mature achene.	ovate or obovate; smaller than the perigynia; dark reddish brown, minutely ciliate; apex obtuse to acute.
Male scales		dark reddish brown or purplish black, with whitish margins.
Anthers		1.9–3.1 mm long.

	Carex echinata	Carex concinnoides
Distribution	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Discussion	Cosmopolitan. 2 subspecies. Narrow-leaved Carex echinata is identified by its widely spreading, gradually tapering perigynia in star-like spikes.	Open conifer forests, sometimes on serpentine substrates. 50–2500 m. BW, Casc, CR, Sisk. CA, ID, WA; north to British Columbia, northeast to MT. Native. Carex concinnoides is the only North American sedge with 4 stigmas. It blooms early in spring, before nearly all other flowers, and attracts pollinating insects. Its perigynia are hairy, and it lacks basal inflorescences among the leaf bases. Its loosely spaced shoots or tufts with dark green, arching leaves make even sterile plants identifiable. In southwestern Oregon, it often grows with C. serpenticola, which has three stigmas per perigynium and is usually dioecious.
Source	Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 199 Barbara Wilson, Richard Brainerd, Nick Otting	Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 196 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. 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. 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. 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
Subordinate taxa	C. echinata ssp. echinata, C. echinata ssp. phyllomanica
Web links	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA 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	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA 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 concinnoides

prickly sedge, star sedge

northwestern sedge

Habit

Plants cespitose, 10–90(135) cm tall.

Plants rhizomatous, the shoots usually arising singly and spaced well apart, sometimes a few together, 14–37 cm tall, arching to the ground as the perigynia mature; plant bases reddish brown.

Leaves

usually 0.7–3(3.8) mm wide.

sheath fronts membranous; mouth with minute cilia;

blades 1.7–4.5 mm wide.

Inflorescences

spikes separated or crowded, usually gynaecandrous, with perigynia widely spreading or reflexed at maturity;

lateral spikes 3–15.5 mm long; terminal spikes 5–24 mm long, often with a narrow male portion 2–16.5 mm long.

1.2–3.3 cm long;

basal shoots absent; lowest bract reddish brown; bristle-like; sheathless, 5–8 mm long, sometimes with awn to 1(6) mm;

lateral spikes 1–3, crowded near the terminal spike, 0.6–1.3 cm × 3–6 mm; terminal spike male, 0.8–2.2 cm × 1.8–3.1 mm.

Perigynia

tapered gradually to the beak; (2.6)3–4.8 mm long, green to brown, veined or veinless on the ventral surface over the achene;

base swollen; pithy when mature;

beak 0.9–2 mm long, 33–60% of perigynium length.

elliptic to obovoid, 2.5–3 × 1.4–1.7 mm, pubescent with straight hairs; veinless but with 2 ribs, bases succulent, withering when dry;

beak 0.5 mm long;

stigmas 4.

Achenes

lenticular.

rounded but with somewhat quadrangular bases.

Female scales

inconspicuous; shorter than the mature achene.

ovate or obovate; smaller than the perigynia; dark reddish brown, minutely ciliate;

apex obtuse to acute.

Male scales

dark reddish brown or purplish black, with whitish margins.

Anthers

1.9–3.1 mm long.

Carex concinnoides

Distribution

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Discussion

Cosmopolitan. 2 subspecies.

Narrow-leaved Carex echinata is identified by its widely spreading, gradually tapering perigynia in star-like spikes.

Open conifer forests, sometimes on serpentine substrates. 50–2500 m. BW, Casc, CR, Sisk. CA, ID, WA; north to British Columbia, northeast to MT. Native.

Carex concinnoides is the only North American sedge with 4 stigmas. It blooms early in spring, before nearly all other flowers, and attracts pollinating insects. Its perigynia are hairy, and it lacks basal inflorescences among the leaf bases. Its loosely spaced shoots or tufts with dark green, arching leaves make even sterile plants identifiable. In southwestern Oregon, it often grows with C. serpenticola, which has three stigmas per perigynium and is usually dioecious.

Source

Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 199
Barbara Wilson, Richard Brainerd, Nick Otting

Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 196
Barbara Wilson, Richard Brainerd, Nick Otting

Sibling taxa