The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

elk sedge

Jones' sedge

Habit Plants loosely cespitose or short rhizomatous, with thick, dark, shallow rhizomes; culms 12–50 cm, triangular in cross section. Plants loosely cespitose, 15–40(60) cm tall, with basal sheaths of previous years persisting as fibers.
Leaves

1.1–3.5 mm wide; flat; evergreen; leathery; as long as or longer than the culms.

sheath fronts hyaline, usually smooth, occasionally somewhat cross-corrugated; shorter than the blades, with mouth concave; all or most sheaths with well-developed blades;

blades 1–4 mm wide, green; all clustered near the base of the shoot, arising at about the same height so that the sheath fronts are mostly hidden.

Inflorescences

spike solitary, androgynous, lacking inflorescence bracts; male terminal portion 1–2.5 cm long, separated from the 1–3 perigynia by a short internode.

0.8–2(2.5) × 0.6–1.5 cm; dense and head-like;

spikes all androgynous, or some female.

Perigynia

obovate, rounded at the top, 5–7(8.5) × 1.8–2.8 mm, green; whitish, or brown;

beak small;

stigmas 3.

2.5–3.5(4) × 1–1.5 mm; widest near the base (occasionally near middle), brown, strongly veined, with 7–11 veins on the dorsal surface, 5–7 on the ventral surface;

base usually pithy and strongly swollen;

beak 0.5–1.5(2) mm long;

margins smooth or nearly so;

stigmas 2.

Achenes

trigonous.

lenticular.

Female scales

the lower longer than the perigynia; the upper reduced; more or less brown with paler midrib and margins, pointed to awned.

about as long as the perigynia, dark brown.

Carex geyeri

Carex jonesii

Distribution
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.

Wet meadows, seeps and streamsides in the mountains. 600–2800 m. BR, BW, Casc, ECas, Sisk. CA, ID, NV, WA; northeast to MT. Native.

Carex jonesii is a common “ball-headed” sedge of montane wetlands, sometimes referred to as the big butt sedge because of its swollen, pithy perigynium bases. Carex jonesii often grows with C. neurophora, which has more or less cross-corrugated leaf sheath fronts that are usually exposed because the leaves arise at different heights. In southwestern Oregon, see C. nervina.

Source Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 202
Barbara Wilson, Richard Brainerd, Nick Otting
Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 208
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. 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. 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. 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
Web links