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Carex livida

(Wahlenb.) Willd.

Livid Sedge

G5Secure Found in 7 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →

G5SecureGlobal Rank

Least concernIUCN

UnknownThreat Impact

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.1234478

Element CodePMCYP03N60

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryVascular Plant

IUCNLeast concern

Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations

KingdomPlantae

PhylumAnthophyta

ClassMonocotyledoneae

OrderCyperales

FamilyCyperaceae

GenusCarex

Other Common Names

Carex livide (FR) livid sedge (EN) Pale Sedge (EN)

Concept Reference

Wilson, B. L., R. E. Brainerd, L. P. Janeway, K. Kuykendall, D. Lytjen, B. Newhouse, N. Otting, S. Meyers, and P. F. Zika. 2007. Description of Carex klamathensis (Cyperaceae), a rare sedge of the Klamath region of Oregon and California, U.S.A. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas 1(1): 69-77.

Taxonomic Comments

This record is for a narrow treatment of Carex livida, excluding Carex klamathensis (described in 2007 by Wilson et al.). The treatment by Rothrock and Reznicek in FNA (2002, vol. 23) and Kartesz (1994, 1999) represents a broader concept, including material that was later described as C. klamathensis.

Conservation Status

Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2

Review Date2023-03-03

Change Date1984-02-29

Edition Date2023-03-03

Edition AuthorsGRIES, D (1998), rev. (Eberly 2023)

Threat ImpactUnknown

Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)

Number of Occurrences> 300

Rank Reasons

Carex livida is a perennial sedge occurring on multiple continents with hundreds of occurrences. Threats and trends are not known over large portions of the species range. Its rarity is likely influenced by habitat availability.

Range Extent Comments

Carex livida occurs on multiple continents with a range that can largely be described as circumboreal with occurrences in Europe, including Iceland and the Scandinavian Peninsula, and in Asia in far eastern Russia south to South Korea. In North America, it is distributed across much of Canada and the northern tier of the United States and Greenland from southern Alaska to Newfoundland and south to California, northwest Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, Michigan, and New Jersey. It is also known from Andes Mountains of South America and Panama (Flora of North America Editorial Committee 2002). Range extent was estimated using NatureServe Network occurrence data, herbarium specimen records, and photo-based observation data collected between 1992 and 2023 (GBIF 2023, iNaturalist 2023, NatureServe 2023).

Occurrences Comments

This species is rare to uncommon throughout much of its range but very common or well documented on the Scandinavian Peninsula and in areas of Canada. By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium records, occurrence data, and photo-based observations documented between 1992 and 2023, it is estimated that there are over 2,200 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2023, iNaturalist 2023, NatureServe 2023).

Ecology & Habitat

Description

Pale Sedge occurs in small clumps arising from long, slender rhizomes, and has flowering stems up to 20 cm tall. Leaves are clustered on the lower third of the stem and have a thin pale-bluish waxy coating; they are 1-4 mm wide with long, pointed tips. The inflorescence consists of 2-3, or sometimes 4, loosely clustered spikes. The narrow terminal spike is 7-30 mm long and either is composed entirely of male flowers or has several fruits borne at the top. The lower spikes are composed entirely of female flowers and are borne on short stalks; the uppermost leaf (bract) just below the lowest spike usually exceeds the uppermost spike. Scales that make up the spikes are light or dark brown in color with a green midvein. The perigynia are 2-4 mm long, pale green and glabrous, and elliptic or ovate in outline with a short beak at the tip; the enclosed seed is triangular in cross-section.

Diagnostic Characteristics

In its bog habitat, Carex livida is best distinguished by its relatively short stature and glaucous foliage.

From CNHP Wetland Guide 2012: Main Characteristics:
Strongly rhizomatous with glaucous foliage
Beakless, light green perigynia contrasts with dark brown scales
Pistillate scales ovate, obtuse to somewhat acute or mucronate at tip, equaling or shorter and narrower than perigynia, center is broad and pale green with white or brown hyaline-scarious margins

Habitat

This species grows in peat bogs, boreal fens, calcareous floating mats, marly meadows, and swampy woods (Idaho Native Plant Society 1992, Flora of North America Editorial Committee 2002).

Palustrine Habitats

HERBACEOUS WETLANDFORESTED WETLANDBog/fen

Other Nations (2)

CanadaN5

Province	Rank	Native
Quebec	S4	Yes
Northwest Territories	S3	Yes
Island of Newfoundland	S5	Yes
Nova Scotia	S2	Yes
Yukon Territory	S4	Yes
Nunavut	S3	Yes
Saskatchewan	S4	Yes
New Brunswick	S3	Yes
Prince Edward Island	S1	Yes
Manitoba	S3	Yes
Ontario	S5	Yes
Labrador	S4	Yes
Alberta	S3	Yes
British Columbia	S5	Yes

United StatesN4

Province	Rank	Native
Alaska	SNR	Yes
Washington	SNR	Yes
Indiana	S1	Yes
Idaho	S3	Yes
Michigan	SNR	Yes
Wyoming	S3	Yes
New Jersey	SNR	Yes
New Hampshire	S1	Yes
Wisconsin	S2	Yes
Utah	S2	Yes
Minnesota	SNR	Yes
Oregon	S2	Yes
Massachusetts	S1	Yes
Montana	S4	Yes
Maine	S2	Yes
New York	S2	Yes
Colorado	S2	Yes
Vermont	S1	Yes
California	SH	Yes

Threat Assessments

Threat	Scope	Severity	Timing
Unknown/undetermined	—	—	—

Plant Characteristics

DurationPERENNIAL

Economic Value (Genus)No

Roadless Areas (7)

Alaska (5)

Area	Forest	Acres
Lindenberg	Tongass National Forest	25,855
Madan	Tongass National Forest	68,553
North Wrangell	Tongass National Forest	8,091
Rhine	Tongass National Forest	23,010
South Kruzof	Tongass National Forest	55,193

Montana (2)

Area	Forest	Acres
Lebeau #507	Kootenai National Forest	1,259
Lebeau RA 1507	Flathead National Forest	5,450

References (12)

Caicco, S. L. 1987. Field investigations of selected sensitive plant species on the Idaho Panhandle National Forest. Idaho Natural Heritage Program, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Boise, Idaho. 44 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.
Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2023. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2023).
Idaho Native Plant Society. 1992. Federal candidate (C1 and C2) and listed rare plants of Idaho. unpaginated.
iNaturalist. 2023. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2023).
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.
Kartesz, J.T. 1999. A synonymized checklist and atlas with biological attributes for the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. First edition. In: Kartesz, J.T., and C.A. Meacham. Synthesis of the North American Flora, Version 1.0. North Carolina Botanical Garden, Chapel Hill, N.C.
Lesica, P. 1986. Vegetation and flora of Pine Butte Fen, Teton County, Montana. Great Basin Naturalist 46:22-32.
Lesica, P. 1991d. The rare vascular plants of Pine Butte Preserve. Unpublished report to The Nature Conservancy, Montana Field Office, Helena. 15 pp.
NatureServe. 2023. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
Weber, W.A., and R.C. Wittmann. 1996a. Colorado flora: Eastern slope. Revised edition. Univ. Press of Colorado, Niwot, Colorado. 524 pp.
Wilson, B. L., R. E. Brainerd, L. P. Janeway, K. Kuykendall, D. Lytjen, B. Newhouse, N. Otting, S. Meyers, and P. F. Zika. 2007. Description of <i>Carex klamathensis</i> (Cyperaceae), a rare sedge of the Klamath region of Oregon and California, U.S.A. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas 1(1): 69-77.

Carex livida

Description

Diagnostic Characteristics

Habitat

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