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Carex albicans

Willd. ex Spreng.

Bellow-beaked Sedge

G5Secure Found in 3 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
UnknownThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.147502
Element CodePMCYP03GT0
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 à écailles marginées (FR) White-tinged Sedge (EN) White-tinge Sedge (EN) whitetinge 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.
Taxonomic Comments
This record represents the broad concept of Carex albicans following FNA (vol. 23, 2002) that includes three varieties: C. albicans var. albicans, C. albicans var. australis, and C. albicans var. emmonsii. Weakley et al. (2025) recognize C. albicans var. emmonsii as a distinct species (C. emmonsii) and therefore, a narrower concept of C. albicans.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2024-06-26
Change Date1994-03-13
Edition Date2024-06-26
Edition AuthorsSoteropoulos (2024)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Carex albicans is a wide-ranging perennial graminoid with three varieties in a variety of forest and woodland habitats occurring in eastern and central North America from Nova Scotia west to Ontario, Canada south to Florida west to Texas, United States, and Mexico. Threats potentially include development, rights-of-way maintenance, logging, recreational activities, succession, and invasive species. Little is known about trends, but with a large range extent and large number of occurrences, abundant habitat, broad habitat preferences, and no obvious intrinsic vulnerabilities, this species is considered secure.
Range Extent Comments
Carex albicans occurs in eastern and central North America from Nova Scotia west to Ontario, Canada south to Florida west to Texas, United States, and Mexico (FNA 2002). See individual entries for distribution details about the three varieties. Range extent was estimated to be over 5.7 million 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 300 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, NatureServe 2024, SEINet 2024).
Threat Impact Comments
Although threats are not widely documented, this species is potentially threatened by development, rights-of-way maintenance, logging, recreational activities, succession, invasive species, and other threats in some places. However, their overall impact is likely negligible given the species' broad range, large number of occurrences, and no obvious intrinsic vulnerabilities.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Carex albicans varieties grow in a variety of deciduous or mixed hardwood-pine woodlands and forests, from dry to mesic, acidic to calcareous, and various compositions and textures, including rocky sandstone and granite, sandy loam or sandy loam-clay (FNA 2002).
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest/WoodlandForest - HardwoodForest - MixedWoodland - HardwoodWoodland - Mixed
Other Nations (2)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
DelawareS4Yes
KansasSNRYes
New YorkS5Yes
North CarolinaSNRYes
KentuckySNRYes
District of ColumbiaSNRYes
New HampshireSNRYes
ArkansasSNRYes
VirginiaS5Yes
TennesseeSNRYes
South CarolinaSNRYes
TexasSNRYes
OhioSNRYes
MissouriSNRYes
IndianaS5Yes
FloridaSNRYes
ConnecticutSNRYes
GeorgiaS5Yes
MaineSNRYes
NebraskaSNRYes
New JerseySNRYes
VermontS1Yes
LouisianaSNRYes
Rhode IslandS1Yes
West VirginiaS4Yes
MississippiS4Yes
MassachusettsSNRYes
MichiganSNRYes
OklahomaSNRYes
WisconsinSNRYes
AlabamaSNRYes
PennsylvaniaSNRYes
IllinoisSNRYes
MarylandSNRYes
CanadaN4
ProvinceRankNative
Nova ScotiaS4Yes
New BrunswickS2Yes
OntarioS3Yes
Prince Edward IslandS4Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
Unknown/undetermined———

—

Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (3)
Arkansas (1)
AreaForestAcres
Clifty CanyonOzark-St. Francis National Forest1,963
Illinois (1)
AreaForestAcres
Burke BranchShawnee National Forest6,231
Texas (1)
AreaForestAcres
Little Lake CreekNational Forests in Texas596
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. 2025. Flora of the southeastern United States Web App. Edition of February 18, 2025. University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Online. Available: https://fsus.ncbg.unc.edu (accessed 2025).