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Carex grayi

Carey

Asa Gray's Sedge

G5Secure Found in 1 roadless area NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
UnknownThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.155233
Element CodePMCYP035H0
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassMonocotyledoneae
OrderCyperales
FamilyCyperaceae
GenusCarex
Other Common Names
Carex de Gray (FR) Gray's Sedge (EN) Gray'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
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2025-07-09
Change Date2025-07-09
Edition Date2025-07-09
Edition AuthorsM.E. Stover, TNC-HO (1995), rev. Soteropoulos (2025)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Carex grayi is a wide-ranging perennial graminoid in mesic to wet deciduous forests, as well as other wetland habitat types, occurring in eastern North America from Ontario and Quebec, Canada south to Florida west to Mississippi, Arkansas, and Oklahoma in the United States. There are over 1,500 estimated occurrences, which face threats from development, rights-of-way maintenance, logging, recreational activities, hydrological alteration, and invasive species. Little is known about trends, but with a large range extent and large number of occurrences, abundant habitat, and broad habitat preferences, this species is considered secure.
Range Extent Comments
Carex grayi occurs in eastern North America from Ontario and Quebec, Canada south to Florida west to Mississippi, Arkansas, and Oklahoma in the United States (FNA 2002). Range extent was estimated to be approximately 2.9 million square kilometers using herbarium specimens, photo-based observations, and NatureServe Network occurrence data documented between 1994 and 2025 (GBIF 2025, iNaturalist 2025, NatureServe 2025, RARECAT 2025, SEINet 2025).
Occurrences Comments
By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium specimens, photo-based observations, and NatureServe Network occurrence data documented between 1994 and 2025, it is estimated that there are over 1,500 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2025, iNaturalist 2025, NatureServe 2025, RARECAT 2025, SEINet 2025).
Threat Impact Comments
Although threats are not widely documented, this species is threatened by development, rights-of-way maintenance, logging, recreational activities, hydrological alteration, invasive species, and other threats in some places, though there is insufficient data, including anecdotal accounts, to understand scope and severity of threats for this species (NatureServe 2025). However, their overall impact is likely negligible given the species' broad range, large number of occurrences, tolerance of light disturbance, and affinity for typically abundant habitats.
Ecology & Habitat

Diagnostic Characteristics

Within Section Lupulinae, distinguished as follows: (1) sheath of the uppermost nonbracteal leaf wanting or less than 1.5 cm; (2) stems solitary to densely cespitose, without elongate stolons; (3) perigynia less than 1 cm long, the beak 1.5-4.2 mm; (3) pistillate spikes globose; (4) distinguished from C. intumescens by the following characters: perigynia dull, cuneate to the base, mostly 8-35 per spike, radiating in all directions (C. intumescens has the perigynia lustrous, convexly rounded to the base, mostly 1-12 per spike, ascending or spreading). (Gleason & Cronquist 1991, Fernald 1950)

Habitat

Carex grayi grows in "mesic to wet deciduous forests, forest openings, usually on fine alluvial or lacustrine deposits, riverbottoms" (FNA 2002), including tidal swamps, floodplains, banks of creeks, wet meadows, and marshes (Deam 1940, Fernald 1950, Steyermark 1963, Radford et al. 1968, Strausbaugh and Core 1978, Godfrey and Wooten 1979, Hough 1983, Voss 1985, Gleason and Cronquist 1991).

Reproduction

Staminate spikes borne above the pistillate spikes on the same stem. Cyperaceae are wind-pollinated with the exception of Dichromena. The inflated perigynium allows Carex seeds to float for long periods of time (2 days to over 12 months, depending on the species), and various species are also dispersed by ants, birds, and mammals (Ridley 1930).
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest/WoodlandForest - HardwoodWoodland - HardwoodGrassland/herbaceous
Palustrine Habitats
HERBACEOUS WETLANDFORESTED WETLANDRiparian
Other Nations (2)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
GeorgiaS2Yes
KansasS3Yes
MississippiS2Yes
VermontS3Yes
IndianaS5Yes
MichiganSNRYes
OklahomaSNRYes
IowaS4Yes
South CarolinaSNRYes
ArkansasS4Yes
West VirginiaS4Yes
New JerseyS4Yes
MinnesotaS3Yes
North CarolinaS3Yes
TennesseeSNRYes
MassachusettsS2Yes
OhioSNRYes
MissouriSNRYes
New YorkS5Yes
VirginiaS4Yes
WisconsinSNRYes
ConnecticutSNRYes
IllinoisS3Yes
KentuckyS5Yes
AlabamaSNRYes
District of ColumbiaS1Yes
FloridaSNRYes
MarylandS4Yes
PennsylvaniaSNRYes
CanadaN4
ProvinceRankNative
OntarioS4Yes
QuebecS4Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
1 - Residential & commercial developmentUnknownUnknownUnknown
4 - Transportation & service corridorsUnknownUnknownUnknown
5 - Biological resource useUnknownUnknownUnknown
5.3 - Logging & wood harvestingUnknownUnknownUnknown
6 - Human intrusions & disturbanceUnknownUnknownUnknown
6.1 - Recreational activitiesUnknownUnknownUnknown
7 - Natural system modificationsUnknownUnknownUnknown
7.2 - Dams & water management/useUnknownUnknownUnknown
8 - Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseasesUnknownUnknownUnknown
8.1 - Invasive non-native/alien species/diseasesUnknownUnknownUnknown
8.1.1 - Unspecified speciesUnknownUnknownUnknown

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Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (1)
Illinois (1)
AreaForestAcres
Burke BranchShawnee National Forest6,231
References (17)
  1. Deam, C. C. 1940. Flora of Indiana. Division of Forestry, Dept. of Conservation, Indianapolis, Indiana. 1236 pp.
  2. Fernald, M. L. 1950. Gray's manual of botany. 8th edition. Corrected printing (1970). D. Van Nostrand Company, New York. 1632 pp.
  3. 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.
  4. Gleason, H.A., and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York. 910 pp.
  5. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2025. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2025).
  6. Godfrey, R.K., and J.W. Wooten. 1979. Aquatic and wetland plants of southeastern United States: Monocotyledons. Univ. Georgia Press, Athens. 712 pp.
  7. Hough, M.Y. 1983. New Jersey wild plants. Harmony Press, Harmony, NJ. 414 pp.
  8. iNaturalist. 2025. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2025).
  9. 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.
  10. NatureServe. 2025. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
  11. <p>NatureServe's Rapid Analysis of Rarity and Endangerment Conservation Assessment Tool (RARECAT). 2025. Version: 2.1.1 (released April 04, 2025).</p>
  12. Radford, A.E., H.E. Ahles, and C.R. Bell. 1968. Manual of the vascular flora of the Carolinas. Univ. North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC. 1183 pp.
  13. Ridley, H.N. 1930. The dispersal of plants throughout the world. L. Reeve & Co., Ltd., Ashford, Kent, United Kingdom. 744 pp.
  14. Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2025. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2025).
  15. Steyermark, J.A. 1963. Flora of Missouri. Iowa State Univ. Press, Ames. 1728 pp.
  16. Strausbaugh, P.D., and E.L. Core. 1978. Flora of West Virginia. Seneca Books, Inc., Grantsville, WV. 1079 pp.
  17. Voss, E.G. 1972. Michigan flora: A guide to the identification and occurrence of the native and naturalized seed-plants of the state. Part I. Gymnosperms and monocots. Cranbrook Institute of Science and Univ. Michigan Herbarium. Ann Arbor. 488 pp.