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Montana Field Guide

Montana Field Guides

Thick-head Sedge - Carex pachystachya
Other Names:  Carex preslii [of some authors]

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Native Species

Global Rank: G5
State Rank: S4
C-value: 7


Agency Status
USFWS:
USFS:
BLM:


 

External Links

 
General Description
Densely caespitose. Stems erect, 15–70 cm. Leaves: basal blades absent; cauline blades 2–4 mm wide. Inflorescence of 4 to 12 sessile, spikes, aggregated into an ovoid head. Spikes 4–8 mm long, all similar; female flowers above male. Perigynia ascending, green to brown, ovate, convex, wing-margined, 3–4.5 × 1–2 mm, the beak, 1–1.5 mm long, serrulate below, entire above; stigmas 2. Female scales medium brown with a pale midstripe and hyaline margins, nearly as wide but shorter than the perigynia. Achene 2-sided, a little smaller than the perigynium (Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).

Range Comments
AK to CA, NV, UT and CO (Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).

Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 66

(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version) Map Help and Descriptions
Relative Density

Recency

 

(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)



Habitat
Coniferous forest openings, moist meadows, often along streams, lakes; valleys to subalpine (Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).

References
  • Literature Cited AboveLegend:   View Online Publication
    • Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 771 p.
  • Additional ReferencesLegend:   View Online Publication
    Do you know of a citation we're missing?
    • Culver, D.R. 1994. Floristic analysis of the Centennial Region, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Montana State University, Bozeman. 199 pp.
    • Hollenbeck, R.R. 1974. Growth rates and movements within a population of Rana pretiosa pretiosa Baird and Girard in south central Montana. Ph.D. Dissertation. Bozeman, Montana: Montana State University. 66 p.
    • Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2022. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants, Second Edition. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 779 p.
    • Saunders, J.K. Jr. 1955. Food habits and range use of the Rocky Mountain goat in the Crazy Mountains, Montana. Journal of Wildlife Management 19(4):429-437.
    • Saunders, J.K., Jr. 1954. A two-year investigation of the food habits and range use of the Rocky Mountain goat in the Crazy Mountains, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 22 p.
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Citation for data on this website:
Thick-head Sedge — Carex pachystachya.  Montana Field Guide.  .  Retrieved on , from