''Carex deweyana'' Dewey's sedge, short-scale 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
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
Description
''Carex deweyana'' grows in dense tufts, with relatively wide( .6 to 4.2 mm) leaves produced on shorter stalks near the base.Culms bearing the flowering spikes are longer, up to 100 cm long. These stalks fall outwards as the fruit matures.
Range
''Carex deweyana'' is native to central and northern North America. Populations to the southern part of the North American range are confined to mountainous areas.
The species has been introduced to Great Britain. It is infrequently found as a
wool alien The term wool alien is used for any plant species whose occurrence at a particular site is due to transportation there as a result of the making of wool products. The most common source of wool aliens is when a plant, seed, or bur attaches to the wo ...
Habitat
''Carex deweyana'' grows in association with trees. It is found in dry to moist sites.
Ecology
Golden-crowned sparrow
The golden-crowned sparrow (''Zonotrichia atricapilla'') is a large New World sparrow found in the western part of North America.
Systematics
The golden-crowned sparrow is one of five species in the genus ''Zonotrichia'', a group of large Americ ...
,
Fox sparrow
The fox sparrow (''Passerella iliaca'') is a large New World sparrow. It is the only member of the genus ''Passerella'', although some authors split the species into four (see below).
Taxonomy
More specific information regarding plumage is avai ...
,
Lincoln's sparrow
Lincoln's sparrow (''Melospiza lincolnii'') is a small American sparrow, sparrow native to North America. It is a less common passerine bird that often stays hidden under thick ground cover, but can be distinguished by its sweet, wrenlike song. Li ...
,
Song sparrow
The song sparrow (''Melospiza melodia'') is a medium-sized New World sparrow. Among the native sparrows in North America, it is easily one of the most abundant, variable and adaptable species.
Description
Adult song sparrows have brown upperp ...
, and
Dark-eyed junco
The dark-eyed junco (''Junco hyemalis'') is a species of junco, a group of small, grayish New World sparrows. This bird is common across much of temperate North America and in summer ranges far into the Arctic. It is a very variable species, much ...
have been observed in association with ''Carex deweyana'',
''Carex deweyana'' is the host of the
smut fungus
The smuts are multicellular fungi characterized by their large numbers of teliospores. The smuts get their name from a Germanic word for dirt because of their dark, thick-walled, and dust-like teliospores. They are mostly Ustilaginomycetes (phylu ...
Anthracoidea deweyanae
''Anthracoidea'' is a genus of smut fungi belonging to the family Anthracoideaceae.
The genus has almost cosmopolitan distribution
In biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution is the term for the range of a taxon that extends across all or mo ...
, in the family
Anthracoideaceae
The Anthracoideaceae are a family of smut fungi in the order Ustilaginales. Collectively, the family contains 20 genera and 198 species. Anthracoideaceae was circumscribed by the Bulgarian mycologist Cvetomir M. Denchev in 1997.
Genera
*''Anthr ...
.
Etymology
The specific name 'deweyana' commemorates
Chester Dewey
Chester Dewey (October 25, 1784 – December 15, 1867) was an American botanist, antislavery activist, clergyman and educator.Makers of American Botany, Harry Baker Humphrey, Ronald Press Company, Library of Congress Card Number 61-18435
Early li ...
(1784-1867), an American naturalist.
Taxonomy
The name ''Carex deweyana'' was first published in the
Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York
The ''Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences'' is an academic journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the New York Academy of Sciences. It is one of the oldest science journals still being published, having been founded in 1823. The ...
, 1: 65 in 1824 in an article written by
Lewis David de Schweinitz
Lewis David de Schweinitz (13 February 1780 – 8 February 1834) was a German-American botanist and mycologist. He is considered by some the "Father of North American Mycology", but also made significant contributions to botany.
Education
B ...
. The type locality of this species is identified as
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
. ''Carex deweyana'' belongs to Carex sect. Deweyanae.
''Carex deweyana'' contains the following varieties:
* ''
Carex deweyana deweyana
''Carex'' is a vast genus of more than 2,000 species of grass-like plants in the family Cyperaceae, commonly known as sedges (or seg, in older books). Other members of the family Cyperaceae are also called sedges, however those of genus ''Carex'' ...
''
* ''
Carex deweyana collectanea
''Carex'' is a vast genus of more than 2,000 species of grass-like plants in the family Cyperaceae, commonly known as sedges (or seg, in older books). Other members of the family Cyperaceae are also called sedges, however those of genus ''Carex'' ...
''
Cultivation
''Carex deweyana'' has been successfully raised in cultivation from wild seed. It is recommended for use in landscaping.