Idaho Sedge

Plants loosely cespitose. Culms 25–40 cm, distally scabrous. Leaves 2–5 mm wide. Inflorescences: proximal bracts shorter than inflorescences; spikes erect, separate, short-pendunculate, short-oblong or elongate, 10–25 × 5–7 mm; lateral 1–3 spikes pistillate or absent, scarcely longer than 1/2 the length of terminal spike; terminal spike gynecandrous, pistillate, or, infrequently, staminate. Pistillate scales brown or almost black, margins narrow-hyaline, lanceolate, as long as, usually longer and as wide as perigynia, midvein lighter colored than body, conspicuous, frequently raised, prominent, distally scabrous, apex acute to mucronate. Perigynia ascending, pale yellow or brown, veinless to few-veined, elliptic to obovate, 2–3 × 1.5–1.75 mm, distal margins serrulate, apex abruptly beaked, smooth; beak 0.2–0.3 mm, truncate or shallowly bidentate, serrulate. Achenes nearly filling body of perigynia.

Calif., Idaho, Mont., Oreg., Utah.

Fruiting Jun–Sep.

Riparian moist meadows; of conservation concern; 2000–2600m.

Carex parryana Dewey subsp. idahoa (L. H. Bailey) D. F. Murray; C. parryana var. statonii M. E. Jones

Carex idahoa L. H. Bailey, Bot. Gaz. 21: 5. 1896
Rootstocks not seen, the culms 2-3.5 dm. high, central, slender but strict, somewhat fibrillose but not filamentose at base, much exceeding the leaves, obtusely triangular, but slightly roughened above, phyllopodic, more or less purplish-brown-tinged at base, the dried-up leaves of the previous year conspicuous; leaves with well-developed blades 5-10 to a fertile culm, clustered just above the base, not septate-nodulose, the blades light-green, thin, flat with somewhat revolute margins, 3-20 cm. long, 2-4 mm. wide, somewhat roughened towards the apex, long-attenuate, the sheaths very thin and white-hyaline ventrally, concave at mouth, the ligule about as long as wide; spikes usually 3, frequently all pistillate, linearoblong or cylindric, erect on short, stiff, scabrous peduncles, approximate, forming a narrow head 3.5-5 cm. long, the lateral spikes 1-2 cm. long, 4—6 mm. wide, the terminal 2-3 cm. long, 6-8 mm. wide, the perigynia numerous, appressed-ascending in few rows; bracts sheathless, usually less than 1 cm. long and much shorter than the subtended spikes; pistillate scales ovate or ovate-lanceolate, long-acute or acuminate, brown with conspicuous lighter center and very narrow hyaline margins, wider than and 2-3 times as long as the perigynia; perigynia obovoid, somewhat flattened on one side, obtusely triangular, not inflated, 3 mm. long, 1.5 mm. wide, glabrous, membranaceous, puncticulate, 2-ribbed, otherwise nerveless or nearly so, tapering to base, substipitate, the body yellowish-green, rounded and abruptly short-beaked at apex, the beak purplish, 0.5 mm. long, emarginate to shallowly bidentate; achenes obovoid, 2 mm. long, 1.35 mm. wide, very closely enveloped, triangular with concave sides, tapering to base, sessile, brownish, granular, abruptly apiculate, jointed with the short style; stigmas 3, blackish, slender, short.
Type locality: Beaver Canon, Idaho (Rydberg 2339).
Distribution: Mountain meadows, Montana and Idaho. (Specimens examined from Idaho and Montana.)

Carex idahoa is a tussock-forming species of perennial sedge in the family Cyperaceae. It is native to western parts of North America.