Carex stipata

Carex stipata, variously called the prickly sedge, awl-fruited sedge, awlfruit sedge, owlfruit sedge, swamp sedge, sawbeak sedge, stalk-grain sedge and common fox sedge, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Carex, native to Canada, the United States, China, Korea, Japan, and Far Eastern Russia.^[3][4][5][2] It is a wetland obligate.^[6]

Carex stipata
Developing seeds
Botanical illustration
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Poales
Family:	Cyperaceae
Genus:	Carex
Species:	C. stipata
Binomial name
Carex stipata Muhl. ex Willd.[1]
Synonyms[2]
Loncoperis stipata (Muhl. ex Willd.) Raf. Vignea stipata (Muhl. ex Willd.) Rchb.

Description

Carex stipata is a tuft-forming, grass-like plant, reaching 2 to 3 ft. in height. Leaves are coarse and elongate. The inflorescence is a spike, with a cluster of brown seed capsules high on each stem. The fruit is an achene.^[7]

Distribution and habitat

Carex stipata favours wetland conditions, such as woodland swales, floodplains, marshes, water meadows, ditches and the area around streams and ponds.^[8]

Subtaxa

The following varieties are currently accepted:^[2]

• Carex stipata var. maxima Chapm. ex Boott
• Carex stipata var. stipata