Flora of North America species comparison

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Carex scopulorum var. bracteosa

Carex scopulorum var. prionophylla
Photo is of parent taxon

bract Rocky Mountain sedge, bract sedge, Holm's Rocky Mountain sedge, mountain sedge, Sierra alpine sedge
Photo is of parent taxon

firethread sedge, saw-leaf Rocky Mountain sedge, saw-leaf sedge
Culms

11–65 cm, scabrous on angles.

35–90 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.

proximal sheaths red-brown, fronts with (red) pale brown spots, prominently ladder-fibrillose, bladeless, glabrous, backs scabrous;

leaf blades 3–6 mm wide.
Perigynia

ellipsoid to obovoid, apex obtuse or rounded.

ellipsoid to obovoid, apex acute.
2n

= 72–80.

= 74.

Carex scopulorum var. bracteosa

Carex scopulorum var. prionophylla
Phenology Fruiting Aug–Sep. Fruiting Jul–Aug.
Habitat Wet subalpine and alpine meadows Wet subalpine meadows
Elevation 1200–3000 m (3900–9800 ft) 1000–1400 m (3300–4600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; CO; ID; MT; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; YT
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
ID; MT; WA; BC
[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.)

Carex scopulorum var. prionophylla usually occurs at somewhat lower elevations than var. bracteosa. Where the two are sympatric, they can be distinguished by the bladeless, ladder-fibrillose basal sheaths and the narrower ellipsoid perigynia of var. prionophylla.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 23, p. 399. FNA vol. 23, p. 400.
Parent taxa Cyperaceae > Carex > sect. Phacocystis > Carex scopulorum Cyperaceae > Carex > sect. Phacocystis > Carex scopulorum
Sibling taxa
C. scopulorum var. prionophylla, C. scopulorum var. scopulorum
C. scopulorum var. bracteosa, C. scopulorum var. scopulorum
Synonyms C. vulgaris var. bracteosa, C. brachypoda, C. campylocarpa, C. campylocarpa subsp. affinis, C. gymnoclada C. prionophylla, C. miserabilis
Name authority (L. H. Bailey) F. J. Hermann: Leafl. W. Bot. 9: 16. (1959) (Holm) L. A. Standley: Syst. Bot. Monogr. 7: 86. (1985)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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