''Carex brevior'', known as shortbeak sedge and plains oval sedge, is a species of

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 ...

native to North America. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''brevior'' means "shorter" in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

Description

''Carex brevior'' forms dense tufts with short-prolonged

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

s, the clumps sometimes appearing elongated. The flowering culms are tall with 3 to 5 leaves per culm. Few vegetative culms are produced and unlike some other sedges, they are not strikingly 3-ranked. The leaf sheaths are white and papery and the ligule is long. The inflorescence is open, brown, up to long with between 3 and 7 distant, distinct spikes per culm. Each spike is ovoid or ellipsoide, typically attenuate at the base and acute or rounded at the tip, with 15–40 lenticular

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 ...

. The perigynia are green to reddish brown, orbiculate to broadly ovate, and typically long and across (1.2–1.8 times as long as wide). ''Carex brevior'' flowers in mid-May and early June, fruiting in the early to mid summer. A member of ''Carex'' sect. ''Ovales'', it is commonly confused with other closely related species such as '' Carex molesta'', '' C. molestiformis'', and ''C. cumulata''. These species share general fruiting characteristics, with "broad perigynia that tend to be widest near the middle of the body and achenes that are broadly elliptic to round". ''C. cumulata'' has perigynia that are more rhombic due to its narrowed wings beyond the middle of the perigynia and the nearly cuneate base. A heteroecious rust fungus, ''

Puccinia dioicae ''Puccinia dioicae'' is a plant pathogen that causes rust on goldenrod. It is common in Iceland, where it infects ''Taraxacum'' species and ''Carex capillaris''. Pycniospores and aeciospores are found on ''Taraxacum'' sp., and uredospores and t ...

'', infects the foliage of ''Carex brevior'', forming brownish spots and blemishes.

Distribution and habitat

''Carex brevior'' has a broad distribution in North America, encompassing most of the continental United States and southern Canada, south to

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...

, Mexico. Its habitats include dry-mesic to dry prairies, meadows, along railroads, and open

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

s, usually in sandy soils and commonly in areas of disturbance. Specimens found in disturbed habitats in parts of the

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern por ...

may be introduced populations.

Ethnobotany

The

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

used the plant as a

gynecological Gynaecology or gynecology (see spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, forming the combined area ...

aid, where a "compound infusion of heplant astaken for evacuation of the

placenta The placenta is a temporary embryonic and later fetal organ that begins developing from the blastocyst shortly after implantation. It plays critical roles in facilitating nutrient, gas and waste exchange between the physically separate mater ...

Gallery

File:Carex brevior (7462230482).jpg, Habit File:Carex brevior NPS-1.jpg, Spikelets File:Carex-brevior--immature-seeds 9177407090 o (2).png, Perigynia

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2938366 brevior Flora of North America