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Photo is of parent taxon

bract Rocky Mountain sedge, bract sedge, Holm's Rocky Mountain sedge, mountain sedge, Sierra alpine sedge

Culms

11–65 cm, scabrous on angles.

Leaves

proximal sheaths red-brown, fronts with pale brown spots, veinless, with blades, glabrous, backs scabrous;

blades 3–6 mm wide.

Perigynia

ellipsoid to obovoid, apex obtuse or rounded.

2n

= 72–80.

Carex scopulorum var. bracteosa

Phenology Fruiting Aug–Sep.
Habitat Wet subalpine and alpine meadows
Elevation 1200–3000 m (3900–9800 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; CO; ID; MT; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; YT
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

A common sedge of the central Rocky Mountains, Carex scopulorum var. bracteosa is distinguished from var. scopulorum by the scabrous stems and sheaths and by the narrower, more ellipsoid perigynia. It is usually distinguishable from var. prionophylla by the absence of bladeless, ladder-fibrillose sheaths; the two taxa may be difficult to identify in areas where both occur.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 23, p. 399.
Parent taxa Cyperaceae > Carex > sect. Phacocystis > Carex scopulorum
Sibling taxa
C. scopulorum var. prionophylla, C. scopulorum var. scopulorum
Synonyms C. vulgaris var. bracteosa, C. brachypoda, C. campylocarpa, C. campylocarpa subsp. affinis, C. gymnoclada
Name authority (L. H. Bailey) F. J. Hermann: Leafl. W. Bot. 9: 16. (1959)
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