''Carex lasiocarpa'' is a broadly distributed species of wetland

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 ...

sometimes known as woollyfruit sedge or slender sedge. It is considered a species of Least Concern by the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

due to its extensive range (much of North America, Europe, and Asia) with many stable populations.

Distribution and habitat

Broadly distributed across much of North America and Eurasia, ''Carex lasiocarpa'' is found in a variety of freshwater

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

habitats including

bogs 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 Wetland#Types, types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, ...

fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires. T ...

s, and shorelines. It is also founds in wet areas of mountainous regions of moderate elevation. In New York state it is considered to be an indicator species for fens.

Description

''Carex lasiocarpa'' is a perennial plant that spreads vegetatively to form dense stands. It bears erect stems which may exceed in height with long, thin leaves. The stem has one to several compact

pistillate 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'' ...

spikes and at the tip one long

staminate The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

spike. The pistillate spike vaguely resembles a tiny purplish or brownish ear of corn, with many

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 ...

Ecology

It can form nearly monospecific stands on shorelines and lakesides. Where water conditions permit, such as in bays protected from waves, the species sometimes forms thick, floating mats. These floating mats often support a rich array of other plant life adapted to wet infertile conditions, including

sphagnum ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, peat moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store wa ...

moss, ericaceous shrubs, orchids, and carnivorous plants. This particular species of ''Carex'' is important in producing distinctive plant communities along lakes and rivers throughout its range.

Taxonomic importance

''Carion lasiocarpa'' is the term of a

plant association A plant community is a collection or association of plant species within a designated geographical unit, which forms a relatively uniform patch, distinguishable from neighboring patches of different vegetation types. The components of each plant co ...

of Carex lasiocarpa, designated by attaching the suffix -ion to the term´s root. Likewise, ''Carex lasiocarpa'' is the

indicator species A bioindicator is any species (an indicator species) or group of species whose function, population, or status can reveal the qualitative status of the environment. The most common indicator species are animals. For example, copepods and other sma ...

of the

alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

''Caricetum lasiocarpae''.Caricetum lasiocarpae Koch 1926
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References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q158026 lasiocarpa Flora of North America Flora of Europe Flora of Asia Plants described in 1784 Taxa named by Jakob Friedrich Ehrhart