Carex gynocrates Wormsk. ex Drejer
yellow bog sedge (northern bog sedge)
Cyperaceae (Sedge family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Bryan Kelly-McArthur     (Photo ID #79551)


Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

Distribution of Carex gynocrates
Click here to view the full interactive map and legend

Species Information

General:
Perennial herb from long, slender rhizomes; stems 5-30 cm tall, single or a few together, longer than the leaves.
Leaves:
Sheaths tight; ligules wider than long; blades 3 to 5 per stem, narrowly in-rolled, borne on the lower 1/2 of the stem, about 0.5 mm wide, the lower ones persisting, reduced.
Flowers:
Spikes solitary, usually with both female and male flowers, the few male flowers towards the tips, sometimes the spikes with all male flowers or all female flowers, the male segment broadly cylindrical, the female segment egg-shaped, 5-15 mm long, 2-4 mm wide, erect; bractless.
Fruits:
Perigynia egg-shaped, 2.5-4 mm long, 1.5-2 mm wide, yellowish to brownish-black, inflated, shiny, finely and many nerved above, reflexed when ripe, short-stalked, the beaks faintly toothed, about 0.5 mm long, bidentate; female scales egg-shaped, shorter but wider than the perigynia, pointed, reddish-brown to brown, the centres lighter; stigmas 2; achenes lens-shaped, 1.2-1.5 mm long.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Illustration

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Carex gynocrates

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
Value / Class

Avg

Min

Max

Elevation (metres)
1065 7 2170
Slope Gradient (%)
4 0 70

Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]

265 20 360
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
6 2 8
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
b
# of field plots
 species was recorded in:
137
Modal BEC Zone Class
BWBS

All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in

BAFA(1), BWBS(46), CWH(2), ESSF(22), ICH(5), IDF(4), MH(3), MS(9), SBPS(1), SBS(22), SWB(7)

Habitat and Range

Bogs, swamps, fens and wet meadows in the upper montane to alpine zones; common in BC in and E of the Coast-Cascade Mountains; amphiberingian, N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF and S to MA, PA, MN, MI, ND, CO, UT, NV and OR; Greenland, E Asia.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Carex dioica subsp. gynocrates (Wormsk. ex Drejer) HultΘn
Carex dioica var. gynocrates (Wormsk. ex Drej.) Ostenf.
Carex parallela (Laest.) Sommerf.