Why YOU Should Love Sedges Too!

They're beautiful!

Carex emoryi, Emory's sedge

Tom

Sedges, Sedges, Sedges

Take a few seconds to look at all the different species of sedges in this short slide show. Depending upon who you "hang" with, you probably either think sedges are wildly awesome or just downright obscure. We botanists love sedges- Ohio has around 160 species of Carex alone, and knowing what type of sedges are calling a particular place home can tell you much about its ecological significance.

Sedges don't have traditional flower parts- The genus Carex, which most of these species belong to, instead have separate male and female flowers. The female flowers are composed of a sack like structure called a perigynia. Towards the top of this sack is a hole through which pollen can enter. Often, the plant's stigmas will be sticking out from the perigynia, making it easier to grab pollen. Male flowers are often much smaller and less inflated. Some sedges have male flowers and female flowers in the same inflorescence, while others are on different spikes. Look for that in these images.

Yes, they do look alike, but by taking a look at the shape of the peryiginia, you usually tell the species. Often you have to do this with a 10x or greater handlens, but still, many sedges can be readily learned in the field, if you work at it. I've been at it for about 5 years now.

Enjoy these sedges! Mostly carex, one Scirpus (old name) and one federally endangered plant thrown in for good measure, the running buffalo clover.

Happy sedge watching,

Tom

High on Carex

December is a tough month. Today, when I was walking down the hallway towards the glass door that would lead me out of the office, I did a double take. I actually saw blue sky. It had been raining all morning, and now, finally, the clouds had broken. No more rain, and even a little bit of sunshine. It was the first that I had seen since last Friday, when I took the pictures of the Juncos. Getting shots in the daylight at this time of year just isn't conducive to my work schedule! I need to try harder- perhaps even take the camera to work and try to catch a cooper's hawk taking down a morning dove.

But I digress. During the field season, I travel across the Lake Erie Watershed searching for Ohio's rare plants. Us botanists collect specimens of plants when we're in the field, allowing us to document a plant's existence. Often, when I collect a specimen, I have no idea what it is, and it takes careful examination under a dissecting scope to put an ID to it. Plant ID is challenging, but all it really takes is time and a great deal of patience.

My view at work the last few weeks has looked liked this:





I've spent hours looking through the scope at plant parts. What you see here is a closeup view, taken through the scope using my Panasonic LZ8 (digiscoped!) of the perigynia of Carex comosa, a fairly common sedge in Ohio found in marshes. This particular specimen I collected back during our June trip to Kelleys Island.

Sedges in the genus Carex are fascinating to study. Just like learning the birds that come to your yard, I'm trying to learn the sedges of Ohio. It is a large group with over 150 species just in our state. What is amazing is that sedges superficially look alike- but once you learn what to look for, they really begin to look different. Ever watch the show John and Kate plus 8? When Megan and I first started to watch the show, we couldn't separate the sextuplets-at all. Now that we've watched a million episodes, we've begun to get to know them and they all look very different to us. The same thing goes with sedges! Enough studying, patience, and persistence, and you'll soon be able to tell Carex gracilescens from Carex blanda!

Tom

P.S. Note the time of this post. I can't sleep- and I'm apparently high on Carex.