| Author | F. Boott | |
| Distribution | Primarily the outer Coastal Plain; scattered elsewhere in the Coastal Plain and in the lower Piedmont; slightly disjunct to Piedmont of Richmond and Stanly counties.
Southern Quebec to MN south to FL, LA, and OK. | |
| Abundance | Frequent in the outer Coastal Plain; rare to uncommon elsewhere. The State Rank could easily be moved to S3S4. | |
| Habitat | Open, nutrient-rich, riverside marshes (fresh to oligohaline), oxbow marshes, interdune marshes, beaver ponds, ditches. Favors sunny wetlands more than most Carex species. |
| Phenology | Flowering and fruiting April-June. | |
| Identification | Bristly Sedge is easily identified by its thick "corn cobs" of finely bristly spikes growing among many broad (5-16 mm wide), long, creased leaves (W or M in cross-section). Spikes vary from semi-erect to pendant. The "bristles" of the spikes are beaks of perigynia; they are much more slender and numerous than in other "corn cob" sedges. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | None
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) | Longhair Sedge, Bottlebrush Sedge | |
| State Rank | S3 [S3S4] | |
| Global Rank | G5 | |
| State Status | | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | OBL link |
| USACE-emp | OBL link |
