Carex heteroneura Provisional Herbaceous Alliance
Different-nerve sedge patches
Different-nerve sedge patches
Summary Information
- Primary Life FormHerb
- Elevation2000-3000 m
- State RarityS3?
- Global RarityG3?
- DistributionCAN: AB, BC. USA: AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, NM, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY (USDA Plants)
- Endemic to CaliforniaNo
- Endemic to California Floristic Province and DesertsNo
- Date Added2009/09/01
Characteristic Species
Carex heteroneura is dominant to co-dominant in the herbaceous layer with Achillea millefolium, Antennaria media, Antennaria rosea, Astragalus spp., Carex microptera, Cryptogramma acrostichoides, Erigeron algidus, Juncus parryi, Lupinus covillei, Pedicularis attollens, Penstemon heterodoxus, Potentilla diversifolia, Potentilla drummondii, Sibbaldia procumbens and Trisetum spicatum.
Vegetation Layers
Herbs and subshrubs < 1 m; cover is intermittent to continuous. Moss cover may be abundant.
Habitats
Mesic subalpine to alpine meadows and adjacent rocky slopes. Soils are well drained to seasonally wet. The USFWS Wetland Inventory (1996 national list) recognizes Carex heteroneura as a FAC plant.
Other Habitat, Alliance, and Community Groupings
MCV (1995) | Alpine habitat, Sedge series, Subalpine meadow habitat |
NVCS (2009) | Not treated |
Calveg | Alpine grasses and forbs, Alpine mixed scrub |
Holland | Wet subalpine or alpine meadow, Sierra Nevada fell-field |
Munz | Alpine fell-fields, Red fir forest |
WHR | Alpine dwarf-shrub |
CDFW CA Code | 45.115.00 |
Remarks
Carex heteroneura is a caespitose, robust subalpine sedge with green leaves and stems to 100 cm. It usually forms 2-4 short spikelets with dark scales, though its spikelets and fruits can vary in size, shape, and color. Stands of the alliance occur in a patchwork with other mesic meadow and rocky-slope vegetation types.
Observations
The range of Carex heteroneura includes the Inyo Mountains (341Fb), Klamath Mountains (M261A), San Bernardino, San Gabriel, and San Jacinto mountains (M262Be, Bh, Bm), Sierra Nevada (M261Eo), Southern Cascades (M261B), Sweetwater Mountains (341Dd), and Warner Mountains (M261Gf). Benedict (1983) recognized a Carex heteroneura-Achillea millefolium association from three stands at Sequoia National Park, occurring on dry/wet meadow borders in the central Sierra Nevada. At least five other surveys completed during a recent vegetation mapping project of the park (S. Haultain, pers. comm. 2003) contained C. heteroneura as the strong dominant. Taylor (1979, see Cheng 2004) established a Carex-Deschampsia association at McAfee RNA in the White Mountains (341Dj) with a dense sod of C. heteroneura and C. incurviformis in wet, seepy alpine areas. We need more sampling and analysis to better characterize the alliance and understand relationships with other subalpine alliances.
References
- [1] Benedict, N.B. 1983
- Cheng, S. 2004