Carex vesicaria

Life-forms

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 vesicaria
Name

Carex vesicaria L., Sp. Pl.: 979 (1753).
Synonyms

Homotypic
Carex vesicaria subsp. subfusca Ehrh., Hannover. Mag. 18: 233 (1780), not validly publ.
Trasus vesicarius (L.) Gray, Nat. Arr. Brit. Pl. 2: 59 (1821 publ. 1822).
Heterotypic
Carex vesicaria subsp. flavescens Ehrh., Hannover. Mag. 18: 233 (1780).
Carex pendula Moench, Methodus: 324 (1794), nom. illeg.
Carex furcata Lapeyr., Hist. Pl. Pyrénées: 568 (1813).
Carex vesicaria var. calcifoenum Laest., Loca Parall.: 88 (1831).
Carex vesicaria var. subalpina Laest., Loca Parall.: 88 (1831).
Carex suilla J.Fellm., Bull. Soc. Imp. Naturalistes Moscou 8: 285 (1835).
Carex vesicaria var. fatua Peterm., Fl. Lips. Excurs.: 62 (1838).
Carex monile Tuck., Enum. Meth. Caric.: 20 (1843).
Carex vesicaria var. alpigena Fr., Novit. Fl. Suec. Mant. 3: 142 (1843).
Carex vesicaria subsp. virens F.Nyl., Spic. Pl. Fenn. 2: 17 (1844).
Carex vesicaria var. dichroa Andersson, Pl. Scand. 1: 18 (1849).
Carex vesicaria f. elatior Andersson, Bot. Not (1849): 29 (1849).
Carex vesicaria var. robusta Sond., Fl. Hamburg.: 506 (1850).
Carex raeana Boott in J.Richardson, Arct. Search. Exped. 2: 344 (1851).
Carex schrenkiana C.A.Mey. ex Trevir. in C.F.von Ledebour, Fl. Ross. 4: 317 (1852).
Carex vesicaria f. brachystachys Lindeb., Bot. Not (1855): 12 (1855).
Carex bongardiana C.A.Mey., Fl. Ochot.: 101 (1856).
Carex vesicaria var. virens (F.Nyl.) Nyl. & Saelán, Herb. Mus. Fenn.: 13 (1859).
Carex vaseyi Dewey, Amer. J. Sci. Arts, ser. 2, 29: 347 (1860).
Carex pulla f. dichroa (Andersson) Blytt, Norges Fl. 1: 212 (1861).
Carex pulla f. polystachya Blytt, Norges Fl. 1: 212 (1861).
Carex vesicaria var. latifolia Blytt, Norges Fl. 1: 252 (1861).
Carex vesicaria f. pendulina Blytt, Norges Fl. 1: 262 (1861).
Carex vesicaria var. globosa Olney, Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 8: 408 (1872).
Carex vesicaria var. lanceolata Olney, Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 8: 407 (1872).
Carex vesicaria var. monile (Tuck.) Boeckeler, Linnaea 41: 320 (1877).
Carex pulla f. pedunculata Kjellm. in A.E.Nordenskiöld, Vega-Exped. Vetensk. Iakttag. 1: 560 (1882).
Carex salina var. ambusta L.H.Bailey, Carex Cat.: 1 (1884).
Carex vesicaria var. obtusisquamis L.H.Bailey, Bot. Gaz. 9: 121 (1884).
Carex monile var. obtusisquamis (L.H.Bailey) L.H.Bailey, Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 22: 68 (1886).
Carex vesicaria f. aurea Lange, Haandb. Danske Fl., ed. 4: 149 (1886).
Carex pulla var. sibirica Christ, Kongl. Svenska Vetensk. Acad. Handl., n.s., 22(10): 181 (1887).
Carex exsiccata var. globosa (Olney) L.H.Bailey, Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 1: 7 (1889).
Carex exsiccata var. pungens L.H.Bailey, Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 1: 7 (1889).
Carex monile var. colorata L.H.Bailey, Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 1: 39 (1889).
Carex monile var. monstrosa L.H.Bailey, Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 1: 40 (1889).
Carex monile var. raeana (Boott) L.H.Bailey, Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 1: 39 (1889).
Carex monile var. pacifica L.H.Bailey, Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., ser. 2, 3: 105 (1891).
Carex udensis Meinsh., Trudy Imp. S.-Peterburgsk. Bot. Sada 18: 366 (1901).
Carex vesicaria var. raeana (Boott) Fernald, Rhodora 3: 54 (1901).
Carex vesicaria var. brachystachys Uechtr. ex Asch. & Graebn., Syn. Mitteleur. Fl. 2(2): 212 (1903).
Carex vesicaria f. hexasticha Hoschedé, Bull. Acad. Int. Géogr. Bot. 12: 205 (1903).
Carex vesicaria var. monstrosa (L.H.Bailey) Farw., Rep. (Annual) Michigan Acad. Sci. 6: 204 (1904).
Carex drymophila var. udensis (Meinsh.) Kük. in H.G.A.Engler (ed.), Pflanzenr., IV, 20(38): 755 (1909).
Carex miliaris var. raeana (Boott) Kük. in H.G.A.Engler (ed.), Pflanzenr., IV, 20(38): 719 (1909).
Carex vesicaria var. colorata (L.H.Bailey) Kük. in H.G.A.Engler (ed.), Pflanzenr., IV, 20(38): 726 (1909).
Carex vesicaria f. dichroa (Andersson) Kük. in H.G.A.Engler (ed.), Pflanzenr., IV, 20(38): 728 (1909).
Carex vesicaria f. globosa (Olney) Kük. in H.G.A.Engler (ed.), Pflanzenr., IV, 20(38): 727 (1909).
Carex vesicaria f. gracillima Kük. in H.G.A.Engler (ed.), Pflanzenr., IV, 20(38): 727 (1909).
Carex vesicaria f. monstrosa (L.H.Bailey) Kük. in H.G.A.Engler (ed.), Pflanzenr., IV, 20(38): 726 (1909).
Carex vesicaria var. pacifica (L.H.Bailey) Kük. in H.G.A.Engler (ed.), Pflanzenr., IV, 20(38): 726 (1909).
Carex vesicaria f. polystachya (Blytt) Kük. in H.G.A.Engler (ed.), Pflanzenr., IV, 20(38): 728 (1909).
Carex vesicaria f. pungens (L.H.Bailey) Kük. in H.G.A.Engler (ed.), Pflanzenr., IV, 20(38): 727 (1909).
Carex vesicaria f. umbrosa Kük. in H.G.A.Engler (ed.), Pflanzenr., IV, 20(38): 725 (1909).
Carex saxatilis f. dichroa (Andersson) E.S.Marshall, J. Bot. 49: 197 (1911).
Carex vesicaria subsp. alpigena (Fr.) Printz, Veg. Siber.-Mongol. Front.: 164 (1921).
Carex vesicaria f. fluitans Raymond, Naturaliste Canad. 77: 65 (1950).

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Eurasia
Altay, Austria, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, Corse, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, East European Russia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Krym, Netherlands, North Caucasus, North European Russia, Northwest European Russia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sicilia, South European Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tadzhikistan, Transcaucasus, Turkey, Ukraine, West Siberia, Yugoslavia
Continental: Northern America
Arizona, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Labrador, Maine, Manitoba, Masachusettes, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Quebec, Rhode I., Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

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

Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum. Tomus II: 979. Reference page.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2020. Carex vesicaria in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 Feb 04. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2020. Carex vesicaria. Published online. Accessed: Feb 04 2020.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2020. Carex vesicaria in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 Feb 04. Reference page.
Tropicos.org 2020. Carex vesicaria. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 Feb 04.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Carex vesicaria in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service.

Vernacular names
Deutsch: Blasen-Segge
suomi: Luhtasara
Nederlands: Blaaszegge

Carex vesicaria is an essentially Holarctic species of sedge known as bladder sedge,[2] inflated sedge,[3] and blister sedge.[4] It has been used to insulate footwear in Norway and among the Sami people, and for basketry in North America.[5][6]

Description

Carex vesicaria is a perennial plant with short creeping rhizomes which grow shoots resembling small tufts. It grows to heights of 30 to 120 cm (12 to 47 in). Its stems are rough near the tip but smoother towards their base. The narrow, ridged and pleated leaves can grow to around 1 m (3.3 ft) in length or more, and have fine toothed edges and sharp points. The fruits are erect, glossy and bulbous.[7] The flower clusters are long and cylindrical in shape and each contains up to 150 developing fruits.[4]

Flowering

Sedge meadow in northern Poland

Taxonomy

Carex vesicaria was first formally named by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.[8] Many forms and varieties have been named, but no infraspecific taxa of Carex vesicaria are accepted in Kew's Plants of the World Online as of March 2020.[9]
Distribution

Bladder sedge has a circumpolar, boreo-temperate distribution.[10] It is native to northern North America being recorded over most of Canada and the northern United States, as far south as California. It can also be found in nearly all of northern Europe and northern Asia as far as Japan and Korea.[1] It is widespread in Britain and Ireland although it is absent from the Orkney and Shetland and very rare in the Western Isles.[2]
Habitat

Carex vesicaria grows in damp habitats, mostly in mesotrophic soils which are slightly basic, in areas where the water table is at or above the soil surface. It grows along edge of many types of waterbodies, as well as damp depressions in pastures and in wet woodlands. It can also colonise wet areas Where pits have been created for extraction of aggregates such as sand, gravel, or clay.

In Britain it has an altitude range of 0–455 m (0–1,493 ft) with the highest plants being found at Llyn Gorast in Cardiganshire.[10]
Uses
Harvesting sennegrass

Carex vesicaria was cultivated in North America by indigenous people as its rhizomes were used for basketry,[6] The dried fibres, were sometimes used as thermal insulation in footwear in polar regions, are known as sennegrass, saennegrass or similar, from the plant's Bokmål name sennegras.[5]
References

Lansdown, R.V. (2014). "Carex vesicaria". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T167846A42370710. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T167846A42370710.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
"Carex vesicaria". Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
Brouillet L, Desmet P, Coursol F, Meades SJ, Favreau M, Anions M, Bélisle P, Gendreau C, Shorthouse D, and contributors (2010+). "Carex vesicaria Linnaeus". data.canadensys.net. Database of Vascular Plants of Canada (VASCAN). Retrieved 22 March 2020.
"Blister Sedge Carex vesicaria". California Native Plant Society. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
Bernadette Hince (2000). The Antarctic Dictionary: A Complete Guide to Antarctic English. Csiro Publishing. ISBN 0643102329. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
"Carex vesicaria". Plant Database. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
"Bladder sedge". Naturespot Recording the Wildlife of Leicestershire and Rutland. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
"Carex vesicaria L." ipni.org. International Plant Names Index. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
"Carex vesicaria L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
"Carex vesicaria". Online Atlas of British and Irish Flora. Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Retrieved 22 March 2020.