Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Account for Carey's Sedge - Carex careyana   Torrey ex Dewey
Members of Cyperaceae:
Members of Carex with account distribution info or public map:
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Section 5 » Order Cyperales » Family Cyperaceae
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AuthorTorrey ex Dewey
DistributionMountains only. Known only from two sites in Jackson County: Hench Knob in 2014 and a CVS vegetation plot in that same area in 1992.

NY to MN south to western NC, TN, northern AL, and AR.
AbundanceVery rare and local, known from one general area in a single county. However, the population has been estimated to have over 5000 culms (in 2014). This is a State Threatened species.
HabitatRich mesophytic hardwood forests, such as cove forests over mafic rock (i.e., in high pH soil).
PhenologyFlowering and fruiting April-May.
IdentificationSimilar to C. plantaginea in having broad basal leaves, but has long inflorescence bracts (2-9 cm vs. less than 2 cm). Similar to C. platyphylla but the base of the plant is red-purple versus whitish or straw color.
Taxonomic CommentsNone

The genus Carex is the largest in North America, and among the largest in the world. In temperate and boreal regions, Carex is often the dominant or co-dominant ground layer in many habitats. Seeds (achenes) are valuable food for birds and small mammals, while foliage is used by birds and mammals to make nests and as food by mammals. Species of Carex often look vastly different from one another -- spikes erect vs. drooping, tiny inflorescence vs. whopping, culms leafy vs. naked, perigynia beaked vs. beakless, stems densely bunched vs. single, etc. The genus has been divided into many sections (or groups), based on shared characters; some taxonomists have suggested that these be different genera, but that proves unworkable (so far). All Carex share the feature of a perigynium (an outer covering) which completely surrounds the achene (seed). This covering may fit tightly or loosely (like a small bladder), depending on which group or species. Details of perigynia shape, ornamentation, presence and size of beak, number of striations (or veins) are all important ID features. In recent years Rob Naczi and colleagues have stressed the importance of arrangement of perigynia -- whether spiral (3+ ranks) or distichous (2-ranked) -- and have named a number of new species as well as split off some older synonyms. Therefore, RAB's (1968) key, excellent for its time, can only be used in a general way today. Members of some sections of Carex are difficult to key out (notably Ovales, Laxiflorae, Griseae); this is in part due to variation among individuals of a species, or failings of the key. FNA has drawings of most species and some species may be found in two or more places within a key, to acount for variability. New species to NC, and new to science(!), continue to be found in NC.
Other Common Name(s)None
State RankS1
Global RankG4G5
State StatusT
US Status
USACE-agcp
USACE-emp
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