Carex pachystachya
Encyclopedia
Carex pachystachya is a species of sedge
known by the common name Chamisso sedge. It is native to western North America from Alaska
to Saskatchewan
to California
, where it grows in dry to wet areas in many types of forest and grassland habitat. This sedge produces dense clumps of erect stems up to 1.2 meters in maximum height. The inflorescence
is a dense or open cluster of several spikes of flowers. The pistillate
flowers are covered in reddish or brown bract
s. The fruit is coated in a sac called a perigynium which is brown or coppery with a metallic sheen and a long dark tip.
Carex
Carex is a genus of plants in the family Cyperaceae, commonly known as sedges. Other members of the Cyperaceae family are also called sedges, however those of genus Carex may be called "true" sedges, and it is the most species-rich genus in the family. The study of Carex is known as...
known by the common name Chamisso sedge. It is native to western North America from Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
to Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where it grows in dry to wet areas in many types of forest and grassland habitat. This sedge produces dense clumps of erect stems up to 1.2 meters in maximum height. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a dense or open cluster of several spikes of flowers. The pistillate
Gynoecium
Gynoecium is most commonly used as a collective term for all carpels in a flower. A carpel is the ovule and seed producing reproductive organ in flowering plants. Carpels are derived from ovule-bearing leaves which evolved to form a closed structure containing the ovules...
flowers are covered in reddish or brown bract
Bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture...
s. The fruit is coated in a sac called a perigynium which is brown or coppery with a metallic sheen and a long dark tip.