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Carex nelsonii

Mackenzie

Nelson's Sedge

G3Vulnerable Found in 4 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →

G3VulnerableGlobal Rank

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.155074

Element CodePMCYP03950

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryVascular Plant

Endemicendemic to a single nation

KingdomPlantae

PhylumAnthophyta

ClassMonocotyledoneae

OrderCyperales

FamilyCyperaceae

GenusCarex

Other Common Names

Nelson's sedge (EN)

Concept Reference

Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.

Conservation Status

Review Date2002-04-02

Change Date2002-10-14

Edition Date2002-10-14

Edition AuthorsStoner, N. (1993), rev. J. Beckman (3/96), rev. L. Morse (2000)

Range Extent20,000-2,500,000 square km (about 8000-1,000,000 square miles)

Number of Occurrences21 - 80

Rank Reasons

Occurs in Rocky Mountains in wet and dry montane habitats, including alpine tundra. Occasional or locally common in Colorado and at nearby sites in the Uinta Mountains of Utah, rare in Wyoming and Montana.

Range Extent Comments

Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana. In Utah, found in a few close sites in the Uintah Mountains. Welsh et al. (1993) lists Duchesne, Uintah, Wasatch and Summit Counties. Also reported from high mountains of Colorado (Weber 1987) (CU Herbarium: Custer, El Paso, Costilla, Boulder, Clear Creek, Gilpin, Larimer, park, Lake, Gunnison, Summit, Pitkin, Eagle, La Plata, San Juan)and in similar habitat in northwest and southeast Wyoming (Dorn 1977). In 1992, Dorn makes reference to C. nelsonii in Montana.

Occurrences Comments

Most common in Colorado ('S3' rank as of 6/00); less common in Wyoming, Montana, and Utah. 14 sites in Uinta Mountains of Utah (Albee et al. 1988), where considered occasional or locally common (Goodrich and Neese 1986). There are 36 Colorado specimens from 15 counties (CU Herbarium 4/99).

Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Alpine snowmelt areas (Weber 1987). Wet and dry meadows, seeps, streams, and in dry alpine tundra and on slopes at 2835-3870m (Welsh et al. 1993).

Other Nations (1)

United StatesN3

Province	Rank	Native
Wyoming	S3	Yes
Montana	S3	Yes
Colorado	S3	Yes
Utah	S2	Yes

Plant Characteristics

Economic Value (Genus)No

Roadless Areas (4)

Wyoming (4)

Area	Forest	Acres
Campbell Lake	Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest	7,088
French Creek	Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest	5,928
Libby Flats	Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest	11,107
Snowy Range	Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest	29,660

References (9)

Albee, B.J., L.M. Shultz, and S. Goodrich. 1988. Atlas of the vascular plants of Utah. Utah Museum Natural History Occasional Publication 7, Salt Lake City, Utah. 670 pp.
Dorn, R.D. 1977. Manual of the vascular plants of Wyoming. 2 vols. Garland Publishing, Incorporated, New York. 1498 pp.
Dorn, R.D. 1984. Vascular plants of Montana. Mountain West Publishing, Cheyenne, Wyoming. 276 pp.
Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2002b. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 23. Magnoliophyta: Commelinidae (in part): Cyperaceae. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxiv + 608 pp.
Goodrich, S., and E. Neese. 1986. Uinta Basin flora. U.S. Forest Service, Intermountain Region, Ogden, Utah. 320 pp.
Harrington, H.D. 1954. Manual of the plants of Colorado. Sage Press, Chicago. 666 pp.
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Weber, W.A. 1987. Colorado flora: Western slope. Colorado Associated University Press. Boulder. 530 pp.
Welsh, S.L., N.D. Atwood, S. Goodrich, and L.C. Higgins (eds.) 1993. A Utah flora. 2nd edition. Brigham Young Univ., Provo, Utah. 986 pp.