Carex rosea, the rosy sedge, is a flowering plant and part of the family Cyperaceae. Synonyms for Carex rosea include Carex concoluta, and Carex flaccidula.[2] It is native to central and eastern North America and it exists in wet to dry soils. Carex rosea can be found in shores of streams and bottomlands, as well as ponds. It is known to have good adaptations to dry-shade locations. It is an evergreen plant which is easy to grow.[3]
| Carex rosea | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Cyperaceae |
| Genus: | Carex |
| Subgenus: | Carex subg. Vignea |
| Section: | Carex sect. Phaestoglochin |
| Species: | C. rosea
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| Binomial name | |
| Carex rosea | |
Description edit
Carex rosea flowers in the spring, and it has evergreen leaves. The styles of this Carex rosea, the stalk connecting the stigma to the ovary, are very distinctively curled, which helps to differentiate this species from other plants. The stigmas range from 0.07 to 0.10 mm thick, while the leaves are almost 1/8 mm wide. The width of the stem leaf blade ranges from 1.8 to 2.6 mm. The lowest bract either has no sheath or the sheath it has is very short up to four mm in length.[4] The lowest spike is not borne on a peduncle, which is a stalk that supports inflorescence growth to more than one flower. The uppermost spike contains both carpels and stamens, with the carpels located below, or mixed in, with the stamens. The membrane that encloses the flower has no hairs and its length varies between 2.6 and 4.2 mm. The leaf sheath has no pink, red, or purple tinting and the leaf blade can either be, smooth and hairless, or rough and sandpapery.[5] The leaves are all produced from the base of the plant, and the one-seeded fruit, usually ranging from 1.6 to 2.2 mm, has no folds or dimples. The spikelets found in the plant are widely spread rather than clustered together, and the culms consist of about 4–8 spikelets. Spikelets are green because of the presence of 7–14 spreading perigynia.[6]
Taxonomy edit
Carex rosea is the type of the Carex rosea complex. While some characters seem to be unreliable for the separation of each species, other characters, like the width of the broadest leaves, the shape of the perigynium base, and the fertile culms, are reliable. Different analysis of the mixed populations have concluded that hybridization between the species does not occur.[7] According to results from a complete ITS sequence based phylogeny, Carex rosea is sister to Carex radiata, Carex retroflexa, Carex texensis, and Carex socialis.[8] The species Carex appalachica is another member of this complex.[9] This plant is primarily confused with Carex radiata. Typically Carex rosea occurs in drier sites and has slightly narrower leaves.[10]
Distribution and habitat edit
C. rosea is distributed from Nova Scotia and southern Quebec west to Minnesota and eastern Nebraska; and south to Georgia, Tennessee, and Arkansas.[11] Its habitat is dry-to-moist woodlands. It can adapt to various soil types and it can also live in rich ravines, and wood edges.[12]
Ecology edit
Carex rosea can complete its life cycle in a little more than two years. Even though the genus Carex has been considered nonmycorrhizal, recent evidence has demonstrated that mycotrophy may be more spread among the sedges than realized.[13]
Horticulture edit
Plants that have already been established to a place are highly drought-tolerant. Carex rosea is unappetizing to deer and other herbivores. Many times Carex rosea, or sedge in general, are used as ground covers. This is a way to help with the maintenance of green expanses near houses since it is an evergreen plant. It is recommended for the plant to be cut completely off before the winter season starts. The more highly adaptable sedges grow in warm-weather conditions and if mowing the land is a choice, then it is recommended to do it only a few times a year, compared to regular grass which is almost every other week.[14]
Conservation status edit
The IUCN indicates that this species has not been assessed.[15] However, no potential threats are known to Carex rosea. This plant is widely distributed and common.
References edit
- ^ "IPNI". Retrieved 2 November 2016.
- ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Carex rosea". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
- ^ "New Moon Nursery". Retrieved 2 November 2016.
- ^ "Flora of the Southern and Mid- Atlantic States" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-06-23. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
- ^ "Carex rosea". Go Botany Discover thousands of New England plants. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
- ^ "-State Species Abstract- -Wyoming Natural Diversity Database-" (PDF). Retrieved 3 November 2016.
- ^ Webber, J. M.; Ball, P. W. (1 October 1984). "The taxonomy of the Carex rosea group (section Phaestoglochin) in Canada". Canadian Journal of Botany. 62 (10): 2058–2073. doi:10.1139/b84-281. ISSN 0008-4026.
- ^ King, Matthew, G.; Roalson, Eric, H. (1 July 2008). "Exploring Evolutionary Dynamics of nrDNA in Carex subgenus Vignea (Cyperaceae)". Systematic Botany. 33 (3): 514–524. doi:10.1600/036364408785679860. S2CID 86103260.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Carex Rosea Clade (Complex Carex rosea)". iNaturalist. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
- ^ Curtis, Linda. "The Confusion of Carex rosea and C. radiata". Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
- ^ Hough, Michael. "Carex rosea Schkuhr ex Willd. – Curly-styled Wood Sedge". Retrieved 19 November 2016.
- ^ "New York Flora Atlas". Retrieved 4 November 2016.
- ^ Miller, R. Michael; Smith, Christopher I.; Jastrow, Julie D.; Bever, James D. (1 April 1999). "Mycorrhizal status of the genus Carex (Cyperaceae)". American Journal of Botany. 86 (4): 547–553. doi:10.2307/2656816. ISSN 0002-9122. JSTOR 2656816. PMID 10205075.
- ^ "Carex rosea". Retrieved 2 November 2016.
- ^ "Search Results". www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved 5 December 2016.