Carex luzulina Provisional Herbaceous Alliance
Woodland sedge fens
Woodland sedge fens
Summary Information
- Primary Life FormHerb
- Elevation700-3200 m
- State RarityS2?
- Global RarityG3
- DistributionCAN: BC. USA: CA, ID, MT, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY (USDA Plants)
- Endemic to CaliforniaNo
- Endemic to California Floristic Province and DesertsNo
- Date Added2009/09/01
Characteristic Species
Carex luzulina is dominant in the herbaceous layer with Caltha leptosepala, Carex capitata, Carex illota, Carex nebrascensis, Dodecatheon alpinum, Eriophorum crinigerum, Hypericum anagalloides, Juncus ensifolius, Juncus nevadensis, Mimulus primuloides, Muhlenbergia filiformis, Oreostemma alpigenum, Perideridia parishii, Spiranthes romanzoffiana and Triantha occidentalis. Emergent shrubs may be present at low cover, including Kalmia microphylla or Vaccinium uliginosum. Mosses are usually abundant, including Bryum pseudotriquetrum, Drepanocladus spp., Philonotis fontana and Sphagnum subsecundum.
Vegetation Layers
Herbs < 90 cm; cover is continuous.
Habitats
Wet meadows, sloping transitional fens. Soils are alluvial and may be highly organic. The USFWS Wetland Inventory (1996 national list) recognizes Carex luzulina as an OBL plant.
Other Habitat, Alliance, and Community Groupings
| MCV (1995) | Fen habitat |
| NVCS (2009) | Not treated |
| Calveg | Wet grasses and forbs |
| Holland | Wet montane meadow, Wet subalpine or alpine meadow, Fen |
| Munz | Freshwater marsh |
| WHR | Wet meadow |
| CDFW CA Code | 45.179.00 |
Remarks
Carex luzulina is a caespitose sedge species, sometimes with short rhizomes. Leaves are borne on the lower part of culm, and the top of the leaf sheath forms a distinctly U-shaped mouth. The several (3-6) spikes extend well beyond the leaves; the lower 1 or 2 spikes are well separated from the upper, densely clustered spikes along the flowering stalk.
Carex luzulina grows in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest and from the northern Rocky Mountains to the Sierra Nevada. Both varieties (var. ablata and var. luzulina, with similar ecology) occur in California. Our understanding of the role of C. luzulina in wet meadows and fens comes mainly from Oregon. Murray (2000) found C. luzulina in 8 of 88 wetland associations in northwestern Oregon, but only at low constancy. Christy (2004) defined a Carex luzulina association in the mountains of northwestern Oregon where C. luzulina cover ranged from 8 to 75%. Christy described the association as a “wet lawn” of 65 species that occupied a narrow elevation zone.
Carex luzulina grows in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest and from the northern Rocky Mountains to the Sierra Nevada. Both varieties (var. ablata and var. luzulina, with similar ecology) occur in California. Our understanding of the role of C. luzulina in wet meadows and fens comes mainly from Oregon. Murray (2000) found C. luzulina in 8 of 88 wetland associations in northwestern Oregon, but only at low constancy. Christy (2004) defined a Carex luzulina association in the mountains of northwestern Oregon where C. luzulina cover ranged from 8 to 75%. Christy described the association as a “wet lawn” of 65 species that occupied a narrow elevation zone.
Observations
The range of Carex luzulina in California includes the Klamath Mountains (M261A), Northern California Coast Ranges (M261B), San Bernardino Mountains (M262Bh), and Warner Mountains (M261Gh). Cooper and Wolf (2006) reported a Carex luzulina-Philonotis fontana type occurred in transitional fens, including at the Sequoia, Sierra, Plumas, and Lassen national forests, of the Sierra Nevada (M261E) and Southern Cascades (M261D). Their fen survey in California provided little information on species composition for this alliance, and we need further sampling to characterize it in California.
References
- [1] Cooper, D.J.;Wolf, E.C. 2006
- Christy, J.A. 2004
- Murray, M.P. 2000