greater bladder sedge
(Carex intumescens)
Conservation • Wetland • Description • Habitat • Ecology • Use • Distribution • Taxonomy
Conservation Status |
|
|||||||
| IUCN Red List | not listed |
|||||||
| NatureServe | N5 - Secure SNR - Unranked |
|||||||
| Minnesota | not listed |
|||||||
Wetland Indicator Status |
||||||||
| Great Plains | OBL - Obligate wetland |
|||||||
| Midwest | FACW - Facultative wetland |
|||||||
| Northcentral & Northeast | FACW - Facultative wetland |
|||||||
Description |
||
The leaf blades are mostly ⅛″ to 5 ⁄16″ wide but may be up to ½″ wide. The sheath of the uppermost leaf is less than ⅝″ long. The tip of the ligule is rounded. The inflorescence is 1 staminate spike and 1 to 4 pistillate spikes at the end of the culm. The leaf-like bracts subtending the inflorescence overtop the inflorescence. The staminate spike is on a slender stalk about the same length as the pistillate spikes. The pistillate spikes, if more than 1, are closely grouped and difficult to distinguish. They are slightly longer than wide and have 2 to 12 mostly ascending perigynia. The perigynia are teardrop-shaped, widest below the middle, strongly veined, and shiny. They point outward or upward, and form a cylinder-shaped spike. |
||
Height |
||
8″ to 40″ |
||
Similar Species |
||
Gray's sedge (Carex grayi) perigynia are dull, not shiny. They radiate in all directions, including downward, making the head look like a medieval mace. Hop sedge (Carex lupulina) uppermost leaf sheaths are more than ⅝″ long. Pistillate spikes have up to 80 perigynia and are much longer than wide. |
||
Habitat |
||
Wet to moderately moist forests, swamps, wet ditches |
||
Ecology |
||
Flowering |
||
Early June to late August |
||
Pests and Diseases |
||
|
||
Use |
||
|
||
Distribution |
||||
|
Sources |
|||
| 4/16/2023 | ||||
Nativity |
||||
Native |
||||
Occurrence |
||||
Common |
||||
Taxonomy |
|||
| Kingdom | Plantae (green algae and land plants) | ||
| Subkingdom | Viridiplantae (green plants) | ||
| Infrakingdom | Streptophyta (land plants and green algae) | ||
| Superdivision | Embryophyta (land plants) | ||
| Division | Tracheophyta (vascular plants) | ||
| Subdivision | Spermatophytina (seed plants) / Angiospermae (flowering plants) | ||
| Class | Liliopsida (monocots) | ||
Order |
Poales (grasses, sedges, cattails, and allies) | ||
Family |
Cyperaceae (sedges) | ||
| Subfamily | Cyperoideae | ||
| Tribe | Cariceae | ||
Genus |
Carex (true sedges) | ||
| Subgenus | Carex | ||
| Section | Lupulinae | ||
Synonyms |
|||
Carex intumescens var. fernaldii |
|||
Common Names |
|||
bladder sedge greater bladder sedge shining bur sedge swollen sedge |
|||
Glossary
Bract
Modified leaf at the base of a flower stalk, flower cluster, or inflorescence.
Ligule
In grasses and sedges, a membranous appendage at the junction of the leaf and the leaf sheath, sometimes no more than a fringe of hairs. In flowering plants, the flat, strap-shaped, petal-like portion of the corolla of a ray floret.
Perigynium
In Carex and other closely related sedges, a sac-like structure that surrounds the pistillate flower and later encloses the achene. Plural: perigynia.
Sheath
The lower part of the leaf that surrounds the stem.
Visitor Photos |
|||||
Share your photo of this plant. |
|||||
| This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Attach one or more photos and, if you like, a caption. |
|||||
Luciearl |
|||||
 |
 |
||||
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos |
|||||
|
|||||
Slideshows |
||
Visitor Videos |
|||
Share your video of this plant. |
|||
| This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Attach a video, a YouTube link, or a cloud storage link. |
|||
Other Videos |
|||
| Carex intumescens habit and dissection Timothy M. Jones |
|||
About
Uploaded on Sep 20, 2007 Carex intumescens habit and dissection |
|||
Visitor Sightings |
|||||
Report a sighting of this plant. |
|||||
| This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Be sure to include a location. |
|||||
| Luciearl 6/10/2019 |
Location: Fairview Twp., Cass County |
|
|||
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings |
|||||
|
Created: Last Updated: © MinnesotaSeasons.com. All rights reserved. |