''Carex baileyi'' is a sedge in section '' Vesicariae'' the genus Carex (true sedges) native to the

Appalachian mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

in Eastern

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. It is commonly called Bailey's sedge. ''Carex baileyi'' was named in honor of

Liberty Hyde Bailey Liberty Hyde Bailey (March 15, 1858 – December 25, 1954) was an American horticulturist and reformer of rural life. He was cofounder of the American Society for Horticultural Science.Makers of American Botany, Harry Baker Humphrey, Ronald Press ...

by its discoverer,

Nathaniel_Lord_Britton Nathaniel Lord Britton (January 15, 1859 – June 25, 1934) was an American botanist and taxonomist who co-founded the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, New York (state), New York. Early life Britton was born in New Dorp, Staten Island, New ...

Habitat

''Carex baileyi'' is an obligate wetland plant which will grow exclusively in wetland areas such as swamps and wet woods. It also occurs in sedge meadows, stream shores, and ditches. It tends to prefer growing from acidic soils

Description

''Carex baileyi'' is a perennial grass-like herb which grows in clumps much like bunch-grass. The stems grow to 65cm tall, and are triangular like all

sedge The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large, with some 5,500 known species described in about 90 genera, the largest being the "true sedges" genus ''Carex'' wit ...

stems. The bases of the stems are reddish in color. The inflorescence consists of 1-2

pistil Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...

ate (female) spikes 10-40mm long x 8-13mm wide, and 1 staminate (male) spike at the tip of the stem 15-30mm long x 1.5-2.5mm wide. The male spike is typically upright, whereas the female spikes tend to droop or at least hang horizontal. Like most sedges in ''Carex'' subgenus ''Carex'', the flowers have a three-branched pistil, and produce an

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not ope ...

with a triangular cross-section. The

perigynia In botany, a perigynium (plural: perigynia), also referred to as a utricle, typically refers to a sac that surrounds the achene of plants in the genus ''Carex'' (Cyperaceae). The perigynium is a modified prophyll, tissue of leaf origin, that enclos ...

is 5-7mm long with a long beak comprising about half of the perigynia length. The beak of the perigynia has two small teeth at the tip about .5mm long. The body of the perigynia is inflated around the achene and has 5-9 nerves. The achenes (fruits) are yellow-brown color and 1.5-2mm long x 1mm wide. Below each perigynia is a pistilate scale, this scale is accuminate or rough awned at the tip and between 2.9-9.8mm long x .3-.9mm wide. ''Carex baileyi'' is very closely related to, and may be confused with the more common '' Carex lurida''. These two species overlap significantly in their ranges but differ in structure; ''C. baileyi'' is more delicate, having smaller leaves and smaller spikes. Specifically, ''C. baileyi'' has spikes .8-1.5cm thick and leaves 2.4-4mm wide, whereas ''C. lurida'' has spikes 1.5-2.2 cm thick and leaves 4-11.5mm wide.

Taxonomy

DNA evidence has raised doubt as to the taxonomic circumscription of ''C. baileyi''. It was found that there are no consistent differences genetically between ''Carex lurida'' and ''Carex baileyi'', however, further research is needed.

Endangered status

''Carex baileyi'' is listed as endangered in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, threatened in

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

and of special concern in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

and

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2938304 baileyi