OregonFlora: Carex vallicola vs. Carex tahoensis

	Carex vallicola	Carex tahoensis
	valley sedge	Tahoe hare sedge, Tahoe sedge
Habit	Plants cespitose or very short-rhizomatous, 12–60 cm tall; plant bases light brown or warm tan.	Plants cespitose, 15–45 cm tall.
Leaves	blades 1–3 mm wide, inconspicuously papillose ventrally.	1.5–2.5(3) mm wide, folded; somewhat tough; the edges sometimes revolute.
Inflorescences	0.5–3 cm × 4–8 mm; spikes 5–10; short, crowded, androgynous.	(1.5)2–3(3.7) cm × 6–12 mm; somewhat elongated; erect or somewhat angled to one side; spikes gynaecandrous; narrow, ascending, overlapping.
Perigynia	oval, 3.3–4 × 1.8–2.3 mm, light brown; shiny, broadly rounded on the dorsal side so that the 2 marginal ribs appear to be on the flat ventral surface, with several (7–15) more or less obscure dorsal veins and no ventral veins; base more or less spongy, 0.7–1 mm long, drying wrinkled; tip abruptly contracted to the beak; beak 0.5–1 mm long; smooth-margined or serrulate; stigmas 2.	ovate; (3.7)4.5–6 × 1.5–2.6 mm; dark reddish brown with green or pale edges; opaque; and somewhat tough when mature, strongly 3–8-veined on the ventral surface, with 7–15 strong veins on the dorsal surface; wings 0.2–0.4(0.5) mm wide; beak tip unwinged, brown; parallel-sided; and entire for the distal 0.2–0.7 mm, with the perigynium wings extending up to the base of the cylindric tip; (0.6)1–2 mm from beak tip to achene top; stigmas 2.
Achenes	lenticular.	lenticular, 1.9–2.4 × 1.2–1.6 mm.
Female scales	slightly shorter than or as long as the perigynia; whitish or pale brown hyaline with green center; apex acute or short-awned.	4–5 mm long; gold to brown with paler midrib; more or less covering the perigynia.

	Carex vallicola	Carex tahoensis
Distribution	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	[BONAP county map]
Discussion	Mesic depressions and slopes in dry grasslands or sage steppes, often in thickets or aspen stands, generally in gravelly loam, often with big sage (Artemisia tridentata). 1300–2300 m. BR, BW, Est, Lava, Owy. CA, ID, NV, WA; north to British Columbia, east to SD, south to NM and Mexico. Native. Carex vallicola is a cespitose sedge with a fairly narrow inflorescence composed of short spikes. Its shiny, plump perigynia have the marginal veins displaced to the ventral side. It oftengrows with C. hoodii, which has darker, more compact inflorescences and perigynia that have ribs at the margins where they belong and are green with copper centers (light brown with dark brown centers when fully mature).	Dry subalpine and alpine ridges and grasslands. 1900–2900 m. BW. CA, WA; north to Yukon, east to CO. Native. Carex tahoensis is a tough, cespitose, subalpine sedge with ascending to appressed, opaque perigynia that are mostly hidden by the female scales. Carex phaeocephala is superficially very similar, but its perigynia are more or less translucent, usually paler, veinless (or with few faint veins), and shorter, narrower, and particularly less thick. Plants with immature perigynia cannot be distinguished.
Source	Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 232 Barbara Wilson, Richard Brainerd, Nick Otting	Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 230 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. 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. 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. 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. 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	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 tahoensis

valley sedge

Tahoe hare sedge, Tahoe sedge

Habit

Plants cespitose or very short-rhizomatous, 12–60 cm tall; plant bases light brown or warm tan.

Plants cespitose, 15–45 cm tall.

Leaves

blades 1–3 mm wide, inconspicuously papillose ventrally.

1.5–2.5(3) mm wide, folded; somewhat tough; the edges sometimes revolute.

Inflorescences

0.5–3 cm × 4–8 mm;

spikes 5–10; short, crowded, androgynous.

(1.5)2–3(3.7) cm × 6–12 mm; somewhat elongated; erect or somewhat angled to one side;

spikes gynaecandrous; narrow, ascending, overlapping.

Perigynia

oval, 3.3–4 × 1.8–2.3 mm, light brown; shiny, broadly rounded on the dorsal side so that the 2 marginal ribs appear to be on the flat ventral surface, with several (7–15) more or less obscure dorsal veins and no ventral veins;

base more or less spongy, 0.7–1 mm long, drying wrinkled;

tip abruptly contracted to the beak;

beak 0.5–1 mm long; smooth-margined or serrulate;

stigmas 2.

ovate; (3.7)4.5–6 × 1.5–2.6 mm; dark reddish brown with green or pale edges; opaque; and somewhat tough when mature, strongly 3–8-veined on the ventral surface, with 7–15 strong veins on the dorsal surface;

wings 0.2–0.4(0.5) mm wide;

beak tip unwinged, brown; parallel-sided; and entire for the distal 0.2–0.7 mm, with the perigynium wings extending up to the base of the cylindric tip; (0.6)1–2 mm from beak tip to achene top;

stigmas 2.

Achenes

lenticular.

lenticular, 1.9–2.4 × 1.2–1.6 mm.

Female scales

slightly shorter than or as long as the perigynia; whitish or pale brown hyaline with green center;

apex acute or short-awned.

4–5 mm long; gold to brown with paler midrib; more or less covering the perigynia.

Carex vallicola

Carex tahoensis

Distribution

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Discussion

Mesic depressions and slopes in dry grasslands or sage steppes, often in thickets or aspen stands, generally in gravelly loam, often with big sage (Artemisia tridentata). 1300–2300 m. BR, BW, Est, Lava, Owy. CA, ID, NV, WA; north to British Columbia, east to SD, south to NM and Mexico. Native.

Carex vallicola is a cespitose sedge with a fairly narrow inflorescence composed of short spikes. Its shiny, plump perigynia have the marginal veins displaced to the ventral side. It oftengrows with C. hoodii, which has darker, more compact inflorescences and perigynia that have ribs at the margins where they belong and are green with copper centers (light brown with dark brown centers when fully mature).

Dry subalpine and alpine ridges and grasslands. 1900–2900 m. BW. CA, WA; north to Yukon, east to CO. Native.

Carex tahoensis is a tough, cespitose, subalpine sedge with ascending to appressed, opaque perigynia that are mostly hidden by the female scales. Carex phaeocephala is superficially very similar, but its perigynia are more or less translucent, usually paler, veinless (or with few faint veins), and shorter, narrower, and particularly less thick. Plants with immature perigynia cannot be distinguished.

Source

Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 232
Barbara Wilson, Richard Brainerd, Nick Otting

Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 230
Barbara Wilson, Richard Brainerd, Nick Otting

Sibling taxa