Carex tenax, the wire sedge, is a species of flowering plant in the family Cyperaceae, native to Texas and the southeastern United States.[1][2]
| Carex tenax | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Cyperaceae |
| Genus: | Carex |
| Species: | C. tenax
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| Binomial name | |
| Carex tenax | |
| |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Description
editIt is a perennial plant that gets up to 20 inches. The roots are fibrous. The alternate leaves are linear and parallel. The leaves are covered with short hairs. The inflorescence is a spike. The fruit are achenes. The flowers are really small and hard to see.[3] The perigynia is ovoid or obovoid and the hairs are not longer than 0.2 mm. It flowers between later spring and early summer.[4]
Distribution and habitat
editIt is found in most of the counties in Western Florida including, Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Gadsden, Holmes, Jackson, Liberty, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton, and Washington counties.[5]
It has a global rank of G4, meaning apparently secure. It also has local state ranks, including, S1 in Texas and North Carolina meaning critically endangered, S2 in Alabama meaning endangered, S3 in Florida and Louisiana meaning imperiled, and S4 in Mississippi meaning apparently secure. Its population is in a decline of between 10-30%.[6]
Generally rare, it is found in the longleaf pine ecosystem.[7] It is commonly found in the elevations of between 0-1,000 feet. It is most commonly found in the sand habitat and the forest habitat.[8]
References
edit- ^ a b "Carex tenax Chapm. ex Dewey". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ Majure, Lucas C. (2007). "The Vascular Flora of the Chunky River (Mississippi)". Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas. 1 (2): 1179–1202. JSTOR 41971547.
- ^ "Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin". www.wildflower.org. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
- ^ "FNA: Carex tenax". nwwildflowers.com. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
- ^ "Carex tenax - Species Details". Atlas of Florida Plants. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
- ^ "NatureServe Explorer 2.0". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
- ^ Sorrie, Bruce A.; Gray, Janet Bracey; Crutchfield, Philip J. (2006). "The Vascular Flora of the Longleaf Pine Ecosystem of Fort Bragg and Weymouth Woods, North Carolina". Castanea. 71 (2): 129–161. doi:10.2179/05-02.1. S2CID 86469929. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ "Carex tenax | wire sedge". wildflowersearch.org. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
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