BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Carex stricta | Tussock Sedge 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Tussock sedge is a rhizomatous sedge reaching a height of about 3 feet
(1 m) [16].  The long narrow leaves are 0.25 inches (0.6 cm) wide and
about 2.5 feet (75 cm) long [19].  The wirelike rhizomes are usually
found in the top 6 inches (15 cm) of the soil and are variable in length
[5].  The fruit is an achene [14].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Hemicryptophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Tussock sedge regenerates primarily through rhizomes.  Two types of
rhizomes are distinguished.  Long rhizomes branch and produce distant
plants.  Short rhizomes produce culms just offset from the parent [5].

Propagation:  Propagation tests for tussock sedge in Wisconsin showed
variable results.  Seeds collected and planted within 2 weeks in 1988
were compared with seeds collected in 1987 and held in cold storage for
1 year.  Germination rates for seeds collected and planted in 1988
were 70 to 95 percent; 1-year-old seeds showed less than 15 percent
germination.  These results indicated that seeds should be planted while
still fresh, preferably within a week or two following harvest [1].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Tussock sedge is found in bogs, wet meadows, floodplains, swales,
marshes, and wet woodlands. It is found in areas where the soil is at or
just above the water level [5,12].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Facultative Seral Species

Tussock segde is shade intolerant hydro-successional species in the
sedge meadow community [5,17,26].  The sedge community is preceded by an
emergent marsh community of reeds (Phragmites spp.) and/or cattails (Typha
spp.)  where the water is above the soil.  The sedge community is
followed by a shrub communty of willows (Salix spp.), dogwoods (Cornus
spp.), and/or alders (Alnus spp.) as drier conditions are produced [5].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Depending on site, tussock sedge flowers from late May to mid-June.  The
fruit ripens in August [8,17].

Related categories for Species: Carex stricta | Tussock Sedge