Carex tomentosa
Downey-fruited Sedge | |
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Genus: | Carex |
Species: | C. tomentosa
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Binomial name | |
Carex tomentosa |
The Downey-fruited Sedge (Carex tomentosa), is dispersed throughout Central Europe in scattered groups and is a rarely found member of the Cyperaceae family.
Description
The Downey-fruited Sedge is a perennial Herbaceous plant that reaches heights from about 20 to 40 cm and has long Stolon. The stiff, upright triangular stem is rough and hairy and the top and has a blackish red sheath at its base. The stem leaves are grey-green, at most 2 mm wide and equipped with triangular tips.
The lowest bract has foliage-like development and dominates the spikelets. At last it often projects itself horizontally. Most of these plants own up to two 0.5 to 1.5 long female spikelets and a terminal male spikelet. These are short stalked and are somewhat removed from the rest of the plant. The fruiting spikelets have white and brown spots. The husks are pointed, red to light-brown colored and have a green middle nerve. The fruit tubes are 1.5 to 2 mm long, with a grey-brown color, spherically ovulate, and have a hairty, felt-like surface.
They predominantly bloom in May and June
The chromosome count is 2n = 48.[1]
Ocurrence
Carex tomentosa comes from southern Scandanavia and England to northern Italy, the Balkens and western Siberia. It is a temperate-continental flora. In Austria the species is has a scattered ocurrence, while it is generally spread in Switzerland. The Downey-fruited Sedge appears in Germany only in the middle and southern areas. It is absent from northern Germany, as it is also in the uplands and in the Alps in large areas.[2]
It populates alternately wet meadows, garden edges and light, somewhat moist deciduous forests.[2] It rises up in the Alps at elevations which are barely above 1500 m.[2] The Downey-fruited Sedge needs dry summers, but moist winters and springs, loamy or clayey, lime or calcareous nitrogen-poor soil in not too shaded areas.[2]
The Downey-fruited sedge withstands fertilization poorly and it is has disappeared from many grasslands. In moist, wet meadows it came to a population of 1900 in central Europe.[2]
=Species Protection
Risk in Germany: Category 3: endangered
References
External Links
- Verbreitung auf der Nordhalbkugel aus: Eric Hultén, Magnus Fries: Atlas of North European vascular plants. 1986, ISBN 3-87429-263-0 bei Den virtuella floran. (schwed.).
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