''Carex distans'', commonly known as distant sedge, is a

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...

species in the sedge 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 ...

. It is native to Europe and North Africa. It is part of a complex of similar species that occur across Eurasia. Its relatives include '' Carex diluta'' of central Asia, which has also introduced to North America in Montana. ''C. distans'' has been introduced to US states including

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. More recently, it was found in Oregon. There is a report from Victoria, Australia as well.

Description

''C. distans'' is densely

cespitose This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

and tall. Leaves: sheaths are brown to orange-brown; blades are green, flat and wide. 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 ...

consists of widely separated spikes. The terminal spike is

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 ...

and the lower 2–4 spikes are

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'' ...

. The

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 ...

(also called utricles) are green to brownish, long, contracted to a beak long. Stigmas are 3 and

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not ope ...

s trigonous. 2''n'' = 68, 70–72, 74.

Distribution

In Europe, these sedges grows in moist meadows, often on sandy or rocky soils. They can grow in brackish marshes and are especially common along coastlines. In the United States, they are found on ballast dumps and in other disturbed, sandy locations. The species is widespread and its overall population appears stable.

References

distans Flora of Europe Flora of Western Asia Flora of North Africa Plants described in 1759 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Carex-stub