Carex

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Carex
Various species of sedges
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Cyperaceae
Genus: Carex
L.
Type species
Carex hirta
Diversity
c. 1800 species
Global distribution of Carex (green)
Synonyms[2]
List
    • Agistron Raf.
    • Ammorrhiza Ehrh.
    • Anithista Raf.
    • Archaeocarex Börner
    • Baeochortus Ehrh.
    • Bitteria Börner
    • Blysmocarex N.A.Ivanova
    • Callistachys Heuff.
    • Caricella Ehrh.
    • Caricina St.-Lag.
    • Caricinella St.-Lag.
    • Chionanthula Börner
    • Chordorrhiza Ehrh.
    • Cobresia Pers.
    • Coleachyron J.Gay ex Boiss.
    • Cryptoglochin Heuff.
    • Cymophyllus Mack. ex Britton & A.Br.
    • Cyperoides Ség.
    • Dapedostachys Börner
    • Desmiograstis Börner
    • Deweya Raf.
    • Diemisa Raf.
    • Diplocarex Hayata
    • Dornera Heuff. ex Schur
    • Drymeia Ehrh.
    • Echinochlaenia Börner
    • Edritria Raf.
    • Elyna Schrad.
    • Facolos Raf.
    • Forexeta Raf.
    • Froelichia Wulfen
    • Genersichia Heuff.
    • Heleonastes Ehrh.
    • Hemicarex Benth.
    • Heuffelia Opiz
    • Holmia Börner
    • Homalostachys Boeckeler
    • Itheta Raf.
    • Kobresia Willd.
    • Kobria St.-Lag.
    • Kolerma Raf.
    • Kuekenthalia Börner
    • Lamprochlaenia Börner
    • Leptostachys Ehrh.
    • Leptovignea Börner
    • Leucoglochin Heuff.
    • Limivasculum Börner
    • Limonaetes Ehrh.
    • Loncoperis Raf.
    • Loxanisa Raf.
    • Loxotrema Raf.
    • Manochlaenia Börner
    • Maukschia Heuff.
    • Meltrema Raf.
    • Neilreichia Kotula
    • Neskiza Raf.
    • Olamblis Raf.
    • Olotrema Raf.
    • Onkerma Raf.
    • Osculisa Raf.
    • Phaeolorum Ehrh.
    • Phyllostachys Torr.
    • Physiglochis Neck.
    • Polyglochin Ehrh.
    • Proteocarpus Börner
    • Pseudocarex Miq.
    • Psyllophora Ehrh.
    • Ptacoseia Ehrh.
    • Rhaptocalymma Borrer
    • Rhynchopera Börner
    • Schelhammeria Moench
    • Schoenoxiphium Nees
    • Temnemis Raf.
    • Thysanocarex Börner
    • Trasus Gray
    • Ulva Adans.
    • Uncinia Pers.
    • Vesicarex Steyerm.
    • Vignantha Schur
    • Vignea P.Beauv. ex T.Lestib.
    • Vignidula Börner

Carex is a vast genus of nearly 2,000 species[3] of grass-like plants in the family Cyperaceae, commonly known as sedges (or seg, in older books). Other members of the family Cyperaceae are also called sedges, however those of genus Carex may be called true sedges, and it is the most species-rich genus in the family. The study of Carex is known as caricology.

Description

All species of Carex are

caespitose).[4] The culm – the flower-bearing stalk – is unbranched and usually erect.[4] It is usually distinctly triangular in section.[4]

The

veins and a distinct midrib. Where the blade meets the culm there is a structure called the ligule.[4] The colour of foliage may be green, red or brown, and "ranges from fine and hair-like, sometimes with curled tips, to quite broad with a noticeable midrib and sometimes razor sharp edges".[6]

In this Carex panicea, the upper spike contains male flowers, and the lower spike contains female flowers.

The flowers of Carex are small and are combined into

monoecious; each flower is either male (staminate) or female (pistillate).[4] A few species are dioecious. Sedges exhibit diverse arrangements of male and female flowers. Often, the lower spikes are entirely pistillate and upper spikes staminate, with one or more spikes in between having pistillate flowers near the base and staminate flowers near the tip.[7]
In other species, all spikes are similar. In that case, they may have male flowers above and female flowers below (androgynous) or female flowers above and male flowers below (gynecandrous). In relatively few species, the arrangement of flowers is irregular.

The defining structure of the genus Carex is the bottle-shaped bract surrounding each female flower.[7] This structure is called the perigynium or utricle, a modified prophyll. It is typically extended into a "rostrum" or beak, which is often divided at the tip (bifid) into two teeth.[7] The shape, venation, and vestiture (hairs) of the perigynium are important structures for distinguishing Carex species.

The fruit of Carex is a dry, one-seeded indehiscent achene or nut[4] which grows within the perigynium. Perigynium features aid in fruit dispersal.

Ecology and distribution

Carex species are found across most of the world, albeit with few species in tropical lowlands, and relatively few in

arctic and alpine tundra, and in wetland habitats with a water depth of up to 50 cm (20 in).[5]

Taxonomy and cytogenetics

Main article: List of Carex species

The genus Carex was established by

Chromosome numbers range from n = 6 to n = 66, and over 100 species are known to show variation in chromosome number within the species, with differences of up to 10 chromosomes between populations.[9]

The genomes of Carex kokanica, Carex parvula and Carex littledalei have been sequenced.[10][11]

Carex has been divided into subgenera in a number of ways. The most influential was Georg Kükenthal's classification using four subgenera – Carex, Vignea, Indocarex and Primocarex – based primarily on the arrangement of the male and female flowers.[5] There has been considerable debate about the status of these four groups, with some species being transferred between groups and some authors, such as Kenneth Kent Mackenzie, eschewing the subgenera altogether and dividing the genus directly into sections.[5] The genus is now divided into around four subgenera, some of which may not, however, be monophyletic:[12]

Fossil record

Several

strata of the Fasterholt area near Silkeborg in Central Jutland, Denmark.[14]

Uses

Ornamental

Carex species and

restoration projects, natural landscaping, and in sustainable landscaping as drought-tolerant grass replacements for lawns and garden meadows.[17] Some require damp or wet conditions, others are relatively drought-tolerant. Propagation is by seed or division in spring.[18]

The cultivars Carex elata 'Aurea' (Bowles' golden sedge)[19] and Carex oshimensis 'Evergold' [20] have received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Other uses

A mix of dried specimens of several species of Carex (including

Sennegrass is one of the names for such mixes.[21] During the first human expedition to the South Pole in 1911, such a mix were used in skaller, when camps had been set (after each stretch of travelling had been completed).[22] Carsten Borchgrevink of the British Antarctic Expedition 1898-1900 reported “I found the Lapps method of never using socks in their Finn boots answered well. Socks are never used in Finnmarken in winter time, but ‘senne grass’ which they, of course, had a special method of arranging in the 'komager' (Finn boots) … if you get wet feet while wearing the grass in the ‘komager’ you will be warmer than ever, as the fresh grass will, by the moisture and the heat of your feet, in a way start to burn or produce its own heat by spontaneous combustion. The great thing seems to be to arrange the grass properly in the boots, and although we all tried to imitate the Finns in their skill at this work, none of us felt as warm on our feet as when they had helped us.”[23]

Species serve as a food source for numerous animals,[24] and some are used as a livestock hay.[25][26]

Use by Native Americans

The

Wailaki weave the roots and leaves into baskets and use the leaves to weave mats.[42] The Yuki people use the large roots to make baskets.[43]

See also

References

  1. doi:10.1016/0304-3770(88)90003-4
    .
  2. ^ "Carex L." Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  3. S2CID 19514206
    .
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-0-8093-2074-5
    .
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-0-19-515207-4
    .
  6. ISBN 978-1-84996-534-7
    .
  7. ^
    ISBN 978-0-901158-35-2
    .
  8. JSTOR 4135449
    .
  9. S2CID 4489708. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on 2015-02-13. Retrieved 2012-10-21.
  10. PMID 32528014
    .
  11. PMID 35322069
    .
  12. ^
    PDF
    proof)     on 2017-11-10. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
  13. ^ a b c Dai Lunkai; Liang Songyun; Zhang Shuren; Tang Yancheng; Tetsuo Koyama; Gordon C. Tucker. "33. Carex Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 972. 1753. 薹草属 tai cao shu". Acoraceae through Cyperaceae (PDF). Flora of China. Vol. 23. Harvard University Press. pp. 285–461.
  14. ^ Angiosperm Fruits and Seeds from the Middle Miocene of Jutland (Denmark) by Else Marie Friis, The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters 24:3, 1985
  15. ISBN 978-1-59186-537-7
    .
  16. ISBN 978-0-618-22644-3
    .
  17. ^ "Grasses and grasslike plants". Native Sons. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  18. ISBN 978-1-4053-3296-5
    .
  19. ^ "Carex elata 'Aurea' (Bowles' golden sedge)". RHS. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  20. ^ "Carex oshimensis 'Evergold'". RHS. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  21. ^ a b "Bruk av land og vann i Finnmark i historisk perspektiv" [The use of land and water in Finnmark in historical perspective]. Norges Offentlige Utredninger (in Norwegian). 1994 (21). Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Public Security. 1994. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  22. ^ Ole Mathismoen (December 14, 2011). "Blir ikke varm i rått reinskinn". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 17. ... skalder med senegress fra Kautokeino til bruk når de hadde slått leir.
  23. ^ Borchgrevink, Carston (1980) [1901]. First on the Antarctic continent. Being an account of the British Antarctic Expedition, 1898 – 1900. London: Hurst and Co.
  24. ISBN 978-1-4200-2644-3
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  25. ISBN 978-0-88977-162-8
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  26. ISBN 978-1-4596-0615-9
    .
  27. ^ Johnston, Alex, 1987, Plants and the Blackfoot, Lethbridge, Alberta. Lethbridge Historical Society, page 22
  28. ^ Hamel, Paul B. and Mary U. Chiltoskey, 1975, Cherokee Plants and Their Uses -- A 400 Year History, Sylva, N.C. Herald Publishing Co., page 54
  29. ^ Bocek, Barbara R., 1984, Ethnobotany of Costanoan Indians, California, Based on Collections by John P. Harrington, Economic Botany 38(2):240-255, page 255
  30. ^ Chamberlin, Ralph V., 1911, The Ethno-Botany of the Gosiute Indians of Utah, Memoirs of the American Anthropological Association 2(5):331-405., page 365
  31. ^ Cook, Sarah Louise, 1930, The Ethnobotany of Jemez Indians., University of New Mexico, M.A. Thesis, page 21
  32. ^ Coville, Frederick V., 1897, Notes On The Plants Used By The Klamath Indians Of Oregon., Contributions from the U.S. National Herbarium 5(2):87-110, page 92
  33. ^ Chestnut, V. K., 1902, Plants Used by the Indians of Mendocino County, California, Contributions from the U.S. National Herbarium 7:295-408., page 314
  34. ^ Blankinship, J. W., 1905, Native Economic Plants of Montana, Bozeman. Montana Agricultural College Experimental Station, Bulletin 56, page 9
  35. ^ Wyman, Leland C. and Stuart K. Harris, 1951, The Ethnobotany of the Kayenta Navaho, Albuquerque. The University of New Mexico Press, page 16
  36. ^ Mahar, James Michael., 1953, Ethnobotany of the Oregon Paiutes of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, Reed College, B.A. Thesis, page 52
  37. ^ Merriam, C. Hart, 1966, Ethnographic Notes on California Indian Tribes, University of California Archaeological Research Facility, Berkeley, page 296
  38. ^ Gifford, E. W., 1967, Ethnographic Notes on the Southwestern Pomo, Anthropological Records 25:10-15, page 11
  39. ^ a b Gifford, E. W., 1967, Ethnographic Notes on the Southwestern Pomo, Anthropological Records 25:10-15, page 12
  40. ^ a b Turner, Nancy Chapman and Marcus A. M. Bell, 1971, The Ethnobotany of the Coast Salish Indians of Vancouver Island, I and II, Economic Botany 25(1):63-104, 335-339, page 73
  41. ^ Turner, Nancy J., Laurence C. Thompson and M. Terry Thompson et al., 1990, Thompson Ethnobotany: Knowledge and Usage of Plants by the Thompson Indians of British Columbia, Victoria. Royal British Columbia Museum, page 114
  42. ^ Chestnut, V. K., 1902, Plants Used by the Indians of Mendocino County, California, Contributions from the U.S. National Herbarium 7:295-408., page 315
  43. ^ Curtin, L. S. M., 1957, Some Plants Used by the Yuki Indians ... II. Food Plants, The Masterkey 31:85-94, page 93

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