Carex bigelowii

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Monocots
Cladus: Commelinids
Ordo: Poales

Familia: Cyperaceae
Subfamilia: Cyperoideae
Tribus: Cariceae
Genus: Carex
Species: Carex bigelowii
Subspecies: C. b. subsp. arctisibirica – C. b. subsp. bigelowii – C. b. subsp. ensifolia – C. b. subsp. lugens
Name

Carex bigelowii Torr. ex Schwein., Ann. Lyceum Nat. Hist. New York 1: 67 (1824).

Synonyms

Homotypic
Carex saxatilis var. bigelowii (Torr. ex Schwein.) Torr., Ann. Lyceum Nat. Hist. New York 3: 397 (1836), comb. not made.
Carex rigida var. bigelowii (Torr. ex Schwein.) Tuck., Enum. Meth. Caric.: 19 (1843).

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Northern America
Alaska, British Columbia, Greenland, Labrador, Maine, Manitoba, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New York, Newfoundland, Northwest Territorie, Nunavut, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New York, Newfoundland, Vermont, Yukon
Continental: Asia-Temperate
Aleutian Is., Altay, Buryatiya, China North-Central, Inner Mongolia, Irkutsk, Japan, Kamchatka, Korea, Krasnoyarsk, Magadan, Mongolia, Nepal, Qinghai, West Siberia, Xinjiang, Yakutskiya, Tibet, Turkey, Tuva
Continental: Europe
North European Russia, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Svalbard

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Torrey, J. 1824. Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York 1: 67.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2019. Carex bigelowii in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2019 Dec 14. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2019. Carex bigelowii. Published online. Accessed: Dec 14 2019.
Tropicos.org 2019. Carex bigelowii. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 14 Dec 2019.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Carex bigelowii in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 08-Apr-12.

Vernacular names
English: Gwanmo Sedge
suomi: Tunturisara
한국어: 갈미사초

Carex bigelowii is a species of sedge known by the common names Bigelow's sedge,[2] Gwanmo sedge,[3] and stiff sedge.[4] It has an Arctic–alpine distribution in Eurasia and North America, and grows up to 50 centimetres (20 in) tall in a variety of habitats.

Distribution

Carex bigelowii has a circumpolar[5] or circumboreal distribution,[6] occurring throughout the northern latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. It is present in Europe, Asia and North America, where it occurs from Alaska to Greenland,[7][8] and in alpine climates as far south as Utah and Colorado.[6]
Description

Carex bigelowii produces 3-angled stems up to 50 centimetres (1.6 ft) tall, growing in a tuft or singly. The leaves are stiff and dark green, and the leaves of previous seasons may remain on the plant. The inflorescence is accompanied by a short bract. The inflorescence has 1–3 black pistillate spikes under 1–2 staminate spikes.[5] The plant usually reproduces vegetatively, sprouting tillers from its rhizome. It also spreads via stolons.[6] It has a thick root network that allows it to form a turf, and the roots may grow 80 cm (2.6 ft) deep in the soil.[9] The plant sometimes reproduces sexually, producing seeds, which can remain viable for 200 years.[6]
Ecology

Carex bigelowii grows in many types of Arctic and alpine habitat. It occurs in forest, bog, meadows and tundra. It occurs alongside plants such as willows (Salix spp.), dwarf arctic birch (Betula nana), lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea), bog blueberry (V. uliginosum), crowberry (Empetrum nigrum), northern Labrador tea (Ledum palustre), American green alder (Alnus crispa), cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus), alpine bearberry (Arctostaphylos alpina), varileaf cinquefoil (Potentilla diversifolia), elephanthead lousewort (Pedicularis groenlandica), white mountain avens (Dryas octopetala), entireleaf mountain avens (D. integrifolia), alpine timothy (Phleum alpinum), alpine rush (Juncus alpinoarticulatus) and tussock cottongrass (Eriophorum vaginatum), as well as feathermosses (Hylocomium and Aulacomium spp.), lichens (Cladonia and Cladina spp.), and sphagnum mosses.[6] In Scotland, particularly on Glas Maol, this sedge is codominant with the moss Racomitrium lanuginosum in a heath ecosystem, the British NVC community U10.[10] The sedge is also associated with this moss on lava fields in Iceland.[11]

Carex bigelowii can colonize disturbed habitat. It has been noted to grow at oil spill sites within two months of the disturbance, and it grows alongside the Dempster Highway in northwestern Canada. Its long-lasting soil seed bank allows it to sprout after the soil is disturbed, and the rhizomes may prevent erosion.[6]
References

= Carex+bigelowii "Carex bigelowii - Torr. ex Schwein". NatureServe Explorer. NatureServe. July 2012. Retrieved December 15, 2012. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Carex bigelowii". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
Lee, Sangtae; Chang, Kae Sun, eds. (2015). English Names for Korean Native Plants (PDF). Pocheon: Korea National Arboretum. p. 389. ISBN 978-89-97450-98-5. Retrieved 12 March 2019 – via Korea Forest Service.
BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
Peter W. Ball; A. A. Reznicek (2003). "Carex bigelowii Torrey ex Schweinitz". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Cyperaceae. Flora of North America. Vol. 23. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195152074.
Robin F. Matthews (1992). "Carex bigelowii". Fire Effects Information System. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
Nordens flora. Bo Mossberg, Lennart Stenberg, Jon Feilberg, Anna Torsteinsrud, Victoria Widmark (Nye, udvidede og omarbejdede udgave ed.). Kbh.: Gyldendal. 2020. ISBN 978-87-02-28916-9. OCLC 1158895781.
Grønlands flora. Tyge Wittrock Böcher (3. reviderede udgave ed.). København: P. Haase & Sons. 1978. ISBN 87-559-0385-1. OCLC 183098604.
Melanie Schori (2004). "Conservation assessment for Bigelow's sedge (Carex bigelowii) Torr" (PDF). USDA Forest Service Eastern Region. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
David Welch; David Scott; Des B. A. Thompson (2005). "Changes in the composition of Carex bigelowii–Racomitrium lanuginosum moss heath on Glas Maol, Scotland, in response to sheep grazing and snow fencing". Biological Conservation. 122 (4): 621–631. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2004.09.016.

B. Olle Jonsson; Ingibjörg S. Jónsdóttir; Nils Cronberg (1996). "Clonal Diversity and allozyme variation in populations of the Arctic sedge Carex bigelowii (Cyperaceae)". Journal of Ecology. 84 (3): 449–459. doi:10.2307/2261206. JSTOR 2261206.