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elk sedge
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northwestern sedge
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| Plants loosely cespitose or short rhizomatous, with thick, dark, shallow rhizomes; culms 12–50 cm, triangular in cross section. |
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. |
1.1–3.5 mm wide; flat; evergreen; leathery; as long as or longer than the culms. |
sheath fronts membranous; mouth with minute cilia; blades 1.7–4.5 mm wide. |
spike solitary, androgynous, lacking inflorescence bracts; male terminal portion 1–2.5 cm long, separated from the 1–3 perigynia by a short internode. |
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. |
obovate, rounded at the top, 5–7(8.5) × 1.8–2.8 mm, green; whitish, or brown; beak small; stigmas 3. |
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. |
trigonous. |
rounded but with somewhat quadrangular bases. |
the lower longer than the perigynia; the upper reduced; more or less brown with paler midrib and margins, pointed to awned. |
ovate or obovate; smaller than the perigynia; dark reddish brown, minutely ciliate; apex obtuse to acute. |
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dark reddish brown or purplish black, with whitish margins. |
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1.9–3.1 mm long. |
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Well-drained soils in dry, open, conifer forests, aspen stands, and openings, rarely in sagebrush, on both serpentine and nonserpentine substrates. 100–2500 m. BR, BW, Col, ECas, Lava, Owy, Sisk. CA, ID, NV, WA; north to southeastern British Columbia, east to CO, PA. Native. Carex geyeri is a common ground cover in open forest, especially in northeastern Oregon, recognized by its tough, flat, evergreen leaves from dark, scaly rhizomes. Similar pinegrass, Calamagrostis rubescens, usually has hairy internodes and when in flower it is easily distinguished. Carex geyeri is important food for wildlife and livestock, especially in winter. In southwestern Oregon, C. geyeri can be confused with C. multicaulis, which is densely cespitose and has proportionately shorter, usually involute leaves, and longer, green, leaf-like, lower female scales. |
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. |
Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 202
Barbara Wilson, Richard Brainerd, Nick Otting |
Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 196
Barbara Wilson, Richard Brainerd, Nick Otting |
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. 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 |
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BC, 
CA, 
OR, 
WA
Flora NW, 
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database
