| Author | F. Boott | |
| Distribution | Mountains only, with a large gap between the 2 counties. One specimen (at DUKE) was collected at East Flat Rock bog in 1937 in Henderson County; and one at Edmonds Bog in the mid 1990s in Alleghany County (at MICH). Both specimens annotated by Tony Reznicek. Several NCNHP reports from Henderson County were checked in the field by Wes Knapp (in litt.), who found C. bullata but not C. utriculata. The Henderson County specimen was annotated by Reznicek, who noted that it shows a few anomalies; it ought to be examined independently.
Lab. to AK south to NC, TN, NM, and CA. | |
| Abundance | Very rare. Known only from an historical specimen from Henderson County, and a recent one (mid 1990s) from Alleghany County. This is a State Endangered species. | |
| Habitat | Montane bogs. |
| Phenology | Flowering and fruiting May-July. | |
| Identification | This is a robust sedge, the stems up to 3 feet tall and leaves up to 15 mm wide. The inflorescence is similar to other Carex species with "corncob" spikes, but differs by a combination of: female scales without awns, perigynia beaks smooth (vs. generally roughened), plants colonial via long rhizomes (vs. clumped individuals and not colonial). The annotation on the Henderson County specimen says that the spikes are unusually long and that many spikelets are +- sterile. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | The DUKE specimen was originally determined as C. schweinitzii, and so reported in RAB (2018); annotated to C. utriculata in 2002 by A.A. Reznicek.
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) | Common Beaked Sedge, Northwest Territory Sedge, Swollen-beaked Sedge | |
| State Rank | S1 | |
| Global Rank | G5 | |
| State Status | E | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | OBL link |
| USACE-emp | OBL link |
