Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Account for Muehlenberg's Sedge - Carex muehlenbergii var. muehlenbergii   Schkuhr ex Willdenow
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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AuthorSchkuhr ex Willdenow
DistributionWidespread in NC, but with large gaps in the southern Mountains and central Coastal Plain.

ME to southern Ont. and MN, south to northwestern FL and TX.
AbundanceInfrequent to frequent in the Coastal Plain and eastern half of the Piedmont, but uncommon at best in the western half of the state, and seemingly very rare in the southern Mountains.
HabitatDry to dry-mesic, usually acidic, open woodlands, wooded edges, and clearings. Most often associated with oak-hickory-dogwood stands.
PhenologyFlowering and fruiting April-May.
IdentificationPerigynia of var. enervis lack veins beneath, whereas var. muehlenbergii normally has 5-9 veins. Perigynia of var. enervis are smaller (2.7-3.1 mm vs. 3-4.2 mm). Both taxa have 3-10 yellow-green or yellow-brown spikes that form a dense to semi-open inflorescence.
Taxonomic CommentsThe text in FNA (2002) makes plain the fact that the 2 varieties of Muehlenberg's Sedge are not very distinct.

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.
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State RankS4 [S4S5]
Global RankG5T5
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