''Carex chordorrhiza'', commonly called creeping sedge or string sedge, is a species of perennial plant in the family

Cyperaceae 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'' w ...

with Holarctic distribution growing in acidic

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

Growth form and classification

''Carex chordorrhiza'' has an unusual growth habit, where prostrate stems produce new shoots the following year. Using this means of growth, ''C. chordorrhiza'' can grow vegetatively by up to per year. This habit is considered so distinct from all other '' Carex'' species that ''C. chordorrhiza'' is placed in its own section, ''Carex'' sect. ''Chordorrhizae'', although similar habits are seen in other species such as ''

Carex limosa ''Carex limosa'' is a species of sedge known as bog-sedge, mud sedge, and shore sedge. Distribution This sedge is an aquatic or shore plant which can most often be found in peat bogs in mountains. It is widely distributed across North America ...

''.

Description

The culms of ''C. chordorrhiza'' are long, and are initially erect. As they mature, the stems become prostrate and can reach a length of . The inflorescences are long and wide.

Distribution

The

distribution Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations * Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a vari ...

of ''Carex chordorrhiza'' is circumpolar in

boreal Boreal may refer to: Climatology and geography *Boreal (age), the first climatic phase of the Blytt-Sernander sequence of northern Europe, during the Holocene epoch *Boreal climate, a climate characterized by long winters and short, cool to mild ...

and

subarctic The subarctic zone is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic, north of humid continental regions and covering much of Alaska, Canada, Iceland, the north of Scandinavia, Siberia, and the Cairngorms. Generally, ...

areas. It is found in Iceland, Scandinavia, northern Germany, Poland, northern Russia, and in North America from Alaska to Greenland, and occurs more patchily as far south as Indiana and the Pyrenees. Within the British Isles, it is restricted to two sites in the Scottish Highlands, at the head of Loch Naver (near Altnaharra, West Sutherland) and in the Insh Marshes (Easterness & Nairns).

References

External links

''Carex chordorrhiza''
Flora of the Canadian Arctic

Cyperaceae of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago
''Carex chordorrhiza''
Flora of Michigan {{Taxonbar, from1=Q158522, from2=Q48424944 chordorrhiza Flora of Europe Flora of North America Flora of Asia Plants described in 1782 Flora of Greenland