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fox sedge

dense sedge

Habit Plants cespitose, 30–100 cm tall. Plants cespitose, 50–110 cm tall.
Leaves

sheath fronts cross-corrugated, white-hyaline with brown spots;

blades approximately 5 mm wide, generally longer than the flowering culms.

sheath fronts cross-corrugated, white-hyaline with pale brown spots;

blades 5 mm wide, generally shorter than the flowering culm.

Inflorescences

elongate; (3)7–10 cm × 15 mm; somewhat interrupted;

bracts hair-like, usually conspicuous;

spikes many; short, androgynous; lowest node usually with a short branch with at least 1 side spike; thus the lowest node often seeming to produce 2 spikes.

3–5.7 cm × 15–25 mm; dense and cylindrical, with relatively inconspicuous bracts;

spikes androgynous.

Perigynia

elliptic to ovate, 2–3.2 × 1.3– 1.8 mm; dull grayish brown, with 0–3 dorsal veins; veinless ventrally;

base obtuse or rounded, depending on the amount of pithy tissue within;

stigmas 2.

elliptic to ovate, 2.8–4 × 1.5–2 mm; yellowish brown to brown; reddish brown distally, with (3)5–7 dorsal veins and (0)3–5 ventral veins;

base usually somewhat swollen with spongy tissue and rounded, sometimes lacking such tissue and tapered;

stigmas 2.

Achenes

lenticular.

lenticular.

Female scales

brown; short-awned.

brown; short-awned.

2n

=52, 54.

Carex vulpinoidea

Carex densa

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

Moist to wet meadows, marshes and ditches. 0–1300 m. BW, Casc, Col, ECas, Owy, Sisk, WV. CA, ID, WA; throughout most of Canada and US, south to Mexico; Eurasia, New Zealand. Native.

Carex vulpinoidea is a cespitose sedge with cross-corrugated leaf sheaths and long, interrupted inflorescences with conspicuous though almost hair-thin bracts. Carex densa, its equivalent west of the Cascades, has a shorter, uninterrupted inflorescence with less conspicuous bracts and yellower perigynia that average larger, with more dorsal and ventral veins. Its leaves are shorter than the flowering culms. Carex vulpinoidea is native in eastern Oregon and along the Columbia, but southwestern Oregon records are recent introductions.

Moist areas that dry out in summer, such as wet meadows, wet prairies, ditches, and hillside drainages. 0–1500 m. Casc, CR, ECas, Est, Sisk, WV. CA, WA; Australia. Native.

This abundant west-side sedge is readily identified if the cross-corrugated leaf sheaths are noticed. The only truly similar species is C. vulpinoidea, found mainly east of the Cascades but also common in the Portland area, which has a longer, more interrupted inflorescence with a conspicuous, hair-like bract at the base of each spike and browner perigynia that average smaller (2–3.5 mm long) with 0–3 dorsal veins and usually no ventral veins.

Source Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 233
Barbara Wilson, Richard Brainerd, Nick Otting
Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 198
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. vallicola, C. vernacula, C. vesicaria, C. viridula, 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. 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
Synonyms Carex breviligulata, Carex dudleyi, Carex vicaria
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