Carex stricta
Carex stricta is a species of sedge known by the common names upright sedge[1] and tussock sedge.[2] The plant grows in moist marshes, forests and alongside bodies of water.[3] It grows up to 2 feet (0.61 m) tall and 2 feet (0.61 m) wide. When the leaves die, they build on top of or around the living plant, making a "tussock".[3] Widely distributed in and east of the Great Plains,[4] it is one of the most common wetland sedges in eastern North America.[5]
Carex stricta | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Clade: | Commelinids |
Order: | Poales |
Family: | Cyperaceae |
Genus: | Carex |
Subgenus: | Carex subg. Carex |
Section: | Carex sect. Phacocystis |
Species: | C. stricta |
Binomial name | |
Carex stricta | |
Synonyms | |
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Their seeds are carried by the wind. When seeds land, they are eaten by birds such as dark-eyed junco, northern cardinal, wild turkey, and ducks such as mallard and wood duck. The seeds are also eaten by squirrels and other mammals.[3] The plant can also reproduce vegetatively via rhizomes, and often form colonies.[3]
It is a larval host to the black dash, the dun skipper, and the eyed brown.[6]
References
- "Carex stricta Lam., upright sedge". PLANTS Profile. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
- Coladonato, M. 1994. Carex stricta. In: Fire Effects Information System, USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory.
- Carex stricta. Archived 2012-10-01 at the Wayback Machine Study of Northern Virginia Ecology. Fairfax County Public Schools.
- "Carex stricta". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
- Carex stricta. Flora of North America.
- The Xerces Society (2016), Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects, Timber Press.