Home/Species/ Mendocino Sedge

Carex mendocinensis

Olney

Mendocino Sedge

GNRUnranked Found in 3 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →

GNRUnrankedGlobal Rank

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.1366968

Element CodePMCYP03NT0

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryVascular Plant

KingdomPlantae

PhylumAnthophyta

ClassMonocotyledoneae

OrderCyperales

FamilyCyperaceae

GenusCarex

Concept Reference

Zika, P.F., L.P. Janeway, B.L. Wilson, and L. Ahart. 2013. Carex cyrtostachya (Cyperaceae), a new species of sedge endemic to the Sierra Nevada of California. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas 7(1):25-35.

Taxonomic Comments

This record represents Carex mendocinensis in the narrow sense, not including C. cyrtostachya, following Zika et al. (2013) and Jepson Flora Project (2025). Zika et al. (2013) describe C. cyrtostachya as a distinct species. "C. cyrtostachya is distinguished from C. mendocinensis by its more flexuous distal lateral spikes with more widely spaced perigynia, longer and paler pistillate scales, and longer staminate scale awns" (Zika et al. 2013). In contrast, previous treatments such as Baldwin et al. (2012), Kartesz (1994), and FNA (vol. 23, 2002), included C. cyrtostachya material within C. mendocinensis.

Ecology & Habitat

Other Nations (1)

United StatesNNR

Province	Rank	Native
Oregon	SNR	Yes
California	SNR	Yes

Plant Characteristics

Economic Value (Genus)No

Roadless Areas (3)

California (2)

Area	Forest	Acres
Kelly	Six Rivers National Forest	5,195
North Fork Smith	Six Rivers National Forest	37,898

Oregon (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
South Kalmiopsis	Siskiyou National Forests	104,477

References (4)

Baldwin, B. G., D. H. Goldman, D. J. Keil, R. Patterson, T. J. Rosatti, and D. H. Wilken, eds. 2012. The Jepson manual: vascular plants of California. 2nd edition. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA. 1568 pp.
Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2025. Jepson eFlora. Online. Available: https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/ (accessed 2025).
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.
Zika, P.F., L.P. Janeway, B.L. Wilson, and L. Ahart. 2013. <i>Carex cyrtostachya</i> (Cyperaceae), a new species of sedge endemic to the Sierra Nevada of California. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas 7(1):25-35.