Carex krausei

Carex krausei
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Poales
Family:	Cyperaceae
Genus:	Carex
Species:	C. krausei
Binomial name
Carex krausei Boeckeler

Carex krausei, commonly known as Krause's sedge or carex de Krause in Canada, is a tussock-forming species of perennial sedge in the family Cyperaceae. It is native to subarctic areas of Greenland, Alaska, northern Canada and Russia.

Description

The sedge has 15 to 35 cm (5.9 to 13.8 in) long culms with flat to folded leaf blades that are 2 to 8 cm (0.79 to 3.15 in) long and 1 to 2 mm (0.039 to 0.079 in) wide. The terminal spike contains both staminate and pistillate and is 7 to 10 mm (0.28 to 0.39 in) in length and 1.3 to 1.5 mm (0.051 to 0.059 in) wide in the staminate part with lateral spikes over the top. There can be four to ten lateral spikes containing 10 to 20 flowers.

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described by the botanist Johann Otto Boeckeler in 1886 as a part of the work Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie. There are four synonyms;

• Carex capillaris f. krausei Kük.
• Carex capillaris subsp. krausei (Boeckeler) Böcher
• Carex capillaris var. krausei Krantz in Macoun
• Carex nana Cham. ex Steud.

There are also two subspecies;

• Carex krausei subsp. krausei
• Carex krausei subsp. porsildiana (Polunin) Á.Löve, D.Löve & Raymond.

Distribution

It is found in sub arctic to temperate biomes in the northern hemisphere. It is found in Alaska and most parts of Canada including Yukon, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and Quebec in the north down to British Columbia, Manitoba and Ontario in the south. It is also found in Greenland. In Russia the range extends from Chukotka Autonomous Okrug in the east through northern European Russia to Northwestern Federal District. It is also found in Svalbard further to the north.

See also

• List of Carex species