''Carex subnigricans'' 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 ...

known by the common name nearlyblack sedge.

Distribution

This sedge is native to the western United States from

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

, where it grows in moist and dry mountain habitat above in elevation in sub-alpine and

alpine flora Alpine flora may refer to: * Alpine tundra, a community of plants that live at high altitude * Alpine plant Alpine plants are plants that grow in an alpine climate, which occurs at high elevation and above the tree line. There are many different pl ...

zones, such as in the High

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

Description

''Carex subnigricans'' produces stems no taller than about 20 centimeters from a network of thin

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 thin leaves are rolled tightly and resemble quills. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is generally oval and pointed in shape and one or two centimeters long.

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Carex subnigricans''USDA Plants Profile: Carex subnigricansFlora of North America''Carex subnigricans'' - Photo gallery
subnigricans Alpine flora Flora of the Western United States Flora of California Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Flora of the West Coast of the United States Plants described in 1939 Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Carex-stub