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prickly sedge, star sedge

sanddune sedge

Habit Plants cespitose, 10–90(135) cm tall. Plants more or less dioecious; rhizomatous, the rhizomes little-branched, blackish, stout, 1.8–2.6 mm in diameter; culms 8–40 cm tall, arising singly or in small clusters; plant bases dark brown to blackish.
Leaves

usually 0.7–3(3.8) mm wide.

1.7–3.8 mm wide, mainly clustered at the base of the shoot.

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.

1.2–2.5 cm long; male inflorescences 5–9(11) mm wide; female inflorescences (6)8–16 mm wide;

spikes in one plant seemingly all female or all male but usually with a few, nearly undetectable flowers of the opposite sex mixed in the spikes.

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.

ovate to obovate, 3.1–4.2 × 1.3–1.8 mm, dark brown to nearly black;

beak 0.7–1.5 mm long;

stigmas 2.

Achenes

lenticular.

lenticular.

Female scales

inconspicuous; shorter than the mature achene.

dark reddish brown to purplish black with hyaline margins, similar in color to or darker than the perigynia, awned or not, hiding the perigynia.

Anthers

with a tiny bristly awn.

Carex echinata

Carex pansa

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.

Coastal sand dunes and sandy meadows. 0–50 m. Est. CA, WA; north to British Columbia. Native.

Carex pansa forms a green or yellow-green turf on stabilized sand dunes. Its female inflorescences are large and dark. Carex praegracilis, widespread east of the Cascades and in southwestern Oregon, is extremely similar, but has narrower, lighter-colored, narrower female inflorescences. Carex pansa may grow with C. brevicaulis, which has much-branched, brown rhizomes, reddish shoot bases, and pubescent perigynia.

Source Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 199
Barbara Wilson, Richard Brainerd, Nick Otting
Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 218
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. 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. 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
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