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elk sedge
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knotsheath sedge, retrorse 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 densely cespitose, 10–100 cm tall; plant bases often brown or tinged with red. |
1.1–3.5 mm wide; flat; evergreen; leathery; as long as or longer than the culms. |
widest blades 3–10 mm wide, green; flat to W-shaped in cross section. |
spike solitary, androgynous, lacking inflorescence bracts; male terminal portion 1–2.5 cm long, separated from the 1–3 perigynia by a short internode. |
bracts 3–9 times longer than inflorescence; lateral spikes ascending to spreading; female or androgynous; (1.5)2–4.6 cm, crowded or with the lowest somewhat separated; terminal 1(3) spike(s) male, not or barely elevated above the lateral spikes. |
obovate, rounded at the top, 5–7(8.5) × 1.8–2.8 mm, green; whitish, or brown; beak small; stigmas 3. |
6–10 × (1.6)2.1–3.4 mm, green or straw-colored, with 6–13 veins; apex contracted to the beak; beak 2.1–4.5 mm long; stigmas 3 style persistent, becoming curved. |
trigonous. |
trigonous. |
the lower longer than the perigynia; the upper reduced; more or less brown with paler midrib and margins, pointed to awned. |
shorter than the perigynia; apex acute to acuminate; awnless. |
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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. |
Floodplain forests, lake shores, swamps, streamsides, wet thickets, wet meadows, in sites that are soggy wet in spring but may dry out on the surface later in the season. 0–1000 m. BW, Col, WV. ID, WA; north to British Columbia, east to New Brunswick. Native. Carex retrorsa is a robust, cespitose sedge with its spikes all nestled near the bases of its long inflorescence bracts. Its male spikes are located among the clustered female spikes. One’s first impression might be that this is a deformed C. utriculata or C. vesicaria; both of these species have spikes more separated, with the male spikes held distinctly above the female ones, and with inflorescence bracts not more than 2.5 times as long as the inflorescence. In addition, C. utriculata is strongly rhizomatous. |
Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 202
Barbara Wilson, Richard Brainerd, Nick Otting |
Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 223
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. 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. 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
