''Carex chordorrhiza'', commonly called creeping sedge or string sedge, is a species of
perennial plant in the family
Cyperaceae
The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large, with some 5,500 known species described in about 90 genera, the largest being the "true sedges" genus ''Carex'' w ...
with
Holarctic distribution growing in acidic
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 muskeg; a ...
s.
Growth form and classification
''Carex chordorrhiza'' has an unusual
growth habit, where prostrate stems produce new shoots the following year.
Using this means of growth, ''C. chordorrhiza'' can
grow vegetatively by up to per year. This habit is considered so distinct from all other ''
Carex'' species that ''C. chordorrhiza'' is placed in its own
section, ''Carex'' sect. ''Chordorrhizae'',
although similar habits are seen in other species such as ''
Carex limosa
''Carex limosa'' is a species of sedge known as bog-sedge, mud sedge, and shore sedge.
Distribution
This sedge is an aquatic or shore plant which can most often be found in peat bogs in mountains. It is widely distributed across North America ...
''.
Description
The
culms of ''C. chordorrhiza'' are long, and are initially erect. As they mature, the stems become prostrate and can reach a length of .
The
inflorescences are long and wide.
Distribution
The
distribution of ''Carex chordorrhiza'' is circumpolar in
boreal
Boreal may refer to:
Climatology and geography
*Boreal (age), the first climatic phase of the Blytt-Sernander sequence of northern Europe, during the Holocene epoch
*Boreal climate, a climate characterized by long winters and short, cool to mild ...
and
subarctic
The subarctic zone is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic, north of humid continental regions and covering much of Alaska, Canada, Iceland, the north of Scandinavia, Siberia, and the Cairngorms. Generally, ...
areas.
It is found in
Iceland,
Scandinavia, northern
Germany,
Poland, northern
Russia, and in North America from
Alaska to
Greenland,
and occurs more patchily as far south as
Indiana and the
Pyrenees.
Within the
British Isles, it is restricted to two sites in the
Scottish Highlands, at the head of
Loch Naver (near
Altnaharra, West Sutherland) and in the
Insh Marshes (Easterness & Nairns).
References
External links
''Carex chordorrhiza'' Flora of the Canadian Arctic
Cyperaceae of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago
''Carex chordorrhiza'' Flora of Michigan
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q158522, from2=Q48424944
chordorrhiza
Flora of Europe
Flora of North America
Flora of Asia
Plants described in 1782
Flora of Greenland