''Carex bigelowii'' is a species of

sedge The Cyperaceae () are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as wikt:sedge, sedges. The family (biology), family is large; botanists have species description, described some 5,500 known species in about 90 ...

known by the common names Bigelow's sedge, Gwanmo sedge, and stiff sedge. It has an Arctic–alpine distribution in Eurasia and North America, and grows up to tall in a variety of habitats.

Distribution

''Carex bigelowii'' has a circumpolar or circumboreal distribution, occurring throughout the northern

latitude In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate system, geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at t ...

s of the Northern Hemisphere. It is present in Europe, Asia and North America, where it occurs from

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

, and in

alpine climate Alpine climate is the typical climate for elevations above the tree line, where trees fail to grow due to cold. This climate is also referred to as a mountain climate or highland climate. Definition There are multiple definitions of alpine cli ...

s as far south as

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

and

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

Description

''Carex bigelowii'' produces 3-angled stems up to tall, growing in a tuft or singly. The leaves are stiff and dark green, and the leaves of previous seasons may remain on the plant. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is accompanied by a short

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...

. The inflorescence has 1–3 black

pistillate Gynoecium (; ; : gynoecia) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ...

spikes under 1–2 staminate spikes. The plant usually reproduces vegetatively, sprouting tillers from its rhizome. It also spreads via

stolon In biology, a stolon ( from Latin ''wikt:stolo, stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as a runner, is a horizontal connection between parts of an organism. It may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton. Typically, animal ...

s. It has a thick root network that allows it to form a

turf Sod is the upper layer of turf that is harvested for transplanting. Turf consists of a variable thickness of a soil medium that supports a community of turfgrasses. In British and Australian English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', ...

, and the roots may grow deep in the soil. The plant sometimes reproduces sexually, producing seeds, which can remain viable for 200 years.

Ecology

''Carex bigelowii'' grows in many types of Arctic and alpine habitat. It occurs in forest,

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...

, meadows and

tundra In physical geography, a tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: #Arctic, Arctic, Alpine tundra, Alpine, and #Antarctic ...

. It occurs alongside plants such as willows (''

Salix Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

'' spp.), dwarf arctic birch (''

Betula nana ''Betula nana'', the dwarf birch, is a species of birch in the family Betulaceae, found mainly in the tundra of the Arctic region. Description It is a monoecious, deciduous shrub growing up to high. The bark is non-peeling and shiny red-copp ...

''), lingonberry (''

Vaccinium vitis-idaea ''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'' is a small evergreen shrub in the heath family, Ericaceae. It is known colloquially as the lingonberry, partridgeberry, foxberry, mountain cranberry, or cowberry. It is native to boreal forest and Arctic tundra throug ...

''), bog blueberry ('' V. uliginosum''), crowberry ('' Empetrum nigrum''), northern Labrador tea ('' Ledum palustre''), American green alder ('' Alnus crispa''), cloudberry ('' Rubus chamaemorus''), alpine bearberry ('' Arctostaphylos alpina''), varileaf cinquefoil ('' Potentilla diversifolia''), elephanthead lousewort ('' Pedicularis groenlandica''), white mountain avens (''

Dryas octopetala ''Dryas octopetala'', the mountain avens, eightpetal mountain-avens, white dryas or white dryad, is an Arctic–alpine flowering plant in the family Rosaceae. It is a small prostrate evergreen subshrub forming large colonies. The specific epithe ...

''), entireleaf mountain avens ('' D. integrifolia''), alpine timothy ('' Phleum alpinum''), alpine rush ('' Juncus alpinoarticulatus'') and tussock cottongrass (''

Eriophorum vaginatum ''Eriophorum vaginatum'', the hare's-tail cottongrass, tussock cottongrass, or sheathed cottonsedge, is a species of perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the sedge family Cyperaceae. It is native to bogs and other acidic wetlands throughout t ...

''), as well as feathermosses ('' Hylocomium'' and '' Aulacomium'' spp.), lichens ('' Cladonia'' and ''

Cladina ''Cladonia'' is a genus of moss-like lichenized fungi in the family (biology), family Cladoniaceae. They are the primary food source for reindeer/caribou. ''Cladonia'' species are of economic importance to reindeer-herders, such as the Sami peop ...

'' spp.), and sphagnum mosses. In Scotland, particularly on

Glas Maol Glas Maol () is a mountain in the Mounth, in the southeastern part of the Highlands of Scotland. The broad, flat summit is divided between the council area of Aberdeenshire, Angus and Perth and Kinross, though the highest point lies wholly wit ...

, this sedge is codominant with the moss '' Racomitrium lanuginosum'' in a

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

, the British NVC community U10. The sedge is also associated with this moss on lava fields in Iceland. ''Carex bigelowii'' can colonize disturbed habitat. It has been noted to grow at

oil spill An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into th ...

sites within two months of the disturbance, and it grows alongside the

Dempster Highway The Dempster Highway, also referred to as Yukon Highway 5 and Northwest Territories Highway 8, is a highway in Canada that connects the Klondike Highway in Yukon to Inuvik, Northwest Territories on the Mackenzie River delta. The highway crosses t ...

in northwestern Canada. Its long-lasting

soil seed bank The soil seed bank is the natural storage of seeds, often dormant, within the soil of most ecosystems. The study of soil seed banks started in 1859 when Charles Darwin observed the emergence of seedlings using soil samples from the bottom of a lak ...

allows it to sprout after the soil is disturbed, and the rhizomes may prevent erosion.

Distribution

Description

Ecology

References

Further reading