Roadless Areas
Home/Species/ Summer Sedge

Carex aestivalis

M.A. Curtis ex Gray

Summer Sedge

G4Apparently Secure Found in 2 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G4Apparently SecureGlobal Rank
UnknownThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.152424
Element CodePMCYP03090
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassMonocotyledoneae
OrderCyperales
FamilyCyperaceae
GenusCarex
Other Common Names
summer 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 Date2024-03-28
Change Date1988-02-11
Edition Date2024-03-28
Edition AuthorsSoteropoulos (2024)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences81 - 300
Rank Reasons
Carex aestivalis is a perennial graminoid in forests and rock outcrops at medium to high elevations in or near the Appalachians in the eastern United States from New Hampshire and Vermont south to northern Georgia. Threats include development, silvicultural activities, mining, deer browse, and invasive species. There are between 100 and 200 known occurrences over a large range but little is known about trends.
Range Extent Comments
Carex aestivalis occurs in the eastern United States from New Hampshire and Vermont south to northern Georgia, in or near the Appalachians (Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2023). Range extent was estimated to be about 450,000 square kilometers using herbarium specimens, photo-based observations, and NatureServe Network occurrence data documented between 1993 and 2024 (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, NatureServe 2024, SEINet 2024).
Occurrences Comments
By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium specimens, photo-based observations, and NatureServe Network occurrence data documented between 1993 and 2024, it is estimated that there are over 130 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, NatureServe 2024, SEINet 2024).
Threat Impact Comments
Although threats are not widely documented, Carex aestivalis is threatened by development, silvicultural activities, mining, deer browse, 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 2024).
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Carex aestivalis grows in "northern hardwood forests, northern red oak forests, other dry-mesic to mesic forests and moist rock outcrops at medium to high elevations" (Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2023) and on "seepage slopes and meadows in the mountains" (FNA 2002).
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest/WoodlandForest - HardwoodForest - MixedGrassland/herbaceous
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN4
ProvinceRankNative
South CarolinaS2Yes
ConnecticutS2Yes
GeorgiaS3Yes
MarylandS1Yes
AlabamaSNRYes
New JerseySNRYes
VirginiaS4Yes
MassachusettsS2Yes
New YorkS4Yes
North CarolinaS3Yes
West VirginiaS3Yes
PennsylvaniaSNRYes
KentuckyS1Yes
New HampshireS1Yes
VermontS3Yes
TennesseeSNRYes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
1 - Residential & commercial developmentUnknownUnknownUnknown
2 - Agriculture & aquacultureUnknownUnknownUnknown
2.2 - Wood & pulp plantationsUnknownUnknownUnknown
2.2.3 - Scale unknown/unrecordedUnknownUnknownUnknown
3 - Energy production & miningUnknownUnknownUnknown
3.2 - Mining & quarryingUnknownUnknownUnknown
8 - Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseasesUnknownUnknownUnknown
8.2 - Problematic native species/diseasesUnknownUnknownUnknown
8.2.2 - Named speciesUnknownUnknownUnknown

—

Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (2)
Georgia (1)
AreaForestAcres
Sarah's CreekChattahoochee National Forest6,888
North Carolina (1)
AreaForestAcres
BearwallowPisgah National Forest4,113
References (7)
  1. 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.
  2. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2024. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2024).
  3. iNaturalist. 2024. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2024).
  4. 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.
  5. NatureServe. 2024. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
  6. Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2024. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2024).
  7. Weakley, A.S., and Southeastern Flora Team. 2023. Flora of the southeastern United States. Edition of April 14, 2023. University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 2105 pp.