Introductory
SPECIES: Kobresia simpliciuscula | Simple Kobresia 



ABBREVIATION : 
KOBSIM

SYNONYMS : 
   Carex simpliciuscula Wahlenb.
   Kobresia bipartita (All.) Dalla Torre
   Kobresia caricina Willd.
   Kobresia simpliciuscula var. americana Duman


SCS PLANT CODE : 
   KOSI2


COMMON NAMES : 
   simple kobresia


TAXONOMY : 
The currently accepted scientific name of simple kobresia is Kobresia
simpliciuscula (Wahl.) Mack. [6].


LIFE FORM : 
Graminoid

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : 
No special status

OTHER STATUS : 
USFS Region 1 Status:  MT - Watch [16]. 

Simple kobresia is demonstrabally secure globally but critically
imperiled in Montana [15].  Small and local populations are found in
Glacier National Park [16].


COMPILED BY AND DATE : 
Tara Y. Williams, October 1990


LAST REVISED BY AND DATE : 
NO-ENTRY


AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : 
Williams, Tara Y. 1990. Kobresia simpliciuscula. In: Remainder of Citation

DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Kobresia simpliciuscula | Simple Kobresia 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Simple kobresia is circumboreal, extending south to Newfoundland,
Quebec, and British Columbia.  It extends irregularly to Idaho,
Colorado, Oregon, Montana, and Alberta [6,16].

Occurrence in Glacier National Park:  Lunch Creek Cirque above the lower
headwall [11].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES37  Mountain meadows
   FRES44  Alpine


STATES : 
     AK  CO  ID  MT  OR  UT  WA  WY  AB  BC
     MB  NF  NT  ON  PQ  SK  YT


ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS : 
     DENA  GLAC  LACL


BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
    2  Cascade Mountains
    5  Columbia Plateau
    8  Northern Rocky Mountains
    9  Middle Rocky Mountains
   11  Southern Rocky Mountains
   12  Colorado Plateau


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K052  Alpine meadows and barren


SAF COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
NO-ENTRY

VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Kobresia simpliciuscula | Simple Kobresia 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
NO-ENTRY


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
NO-ENTRY


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY

BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Kobresia simpliciuscula | Simple Kobresia 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Simple kobresia is a densely tufted native perennial which grows 4 to 20
inches (10-50 cm) tall.  It grows in clumps and does not have rhizomes.
There are 10 to 28 achenes per inflorescence [3,6,11,16,18].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Hemicryptophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Light is necessary for germination.  In one study, full germination
occurred at 65 degrees F (18 deg C) and 18-hour days [1].  In another
study, both seed and vegetative plantings did fairly well.  Dividing and
replanting was required to encourage growth and remove weeds [3].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Simple kobresia is a member of stable tundra communities.  It grows in
the moist tundra-alpine zone, in moist, peaty soil, in bogs, in wet
meadows, and along the edges of beaver ponds.  It does well in
calcareous habitats having pH 5.8 to 7.2.  It also grows well in
frost-shattered limestone, limestone grassland, boggy calcareous
meadows, sugar limestone, and calcareous springs.  Simple kobresia also
occurs in ericacous tundra heath, algal marsh habitats, frost-sorted
till, calcareous rocky slopes, and phosphorus-poor sites [3,8,11,14,18].

Simple kobresia occurs at elevations of 11,000 to 12,800 feet
(3,350-3,900 m) in Colorado [4], 7,600 to 8,000 (2,320-2,240 m) in
Montana [16], and 8,030 to 8,700 feet (2,590-2,805 m) in Utah [18].

Common plant associates include sedges (Carex spp.), common butterwort
(Pinguicula vulgaris), creeping juniper (Juniperus horizontalis), tufted
bulrush (Scirpus cespitosus), dwarf birch (Betula pumila var.
glandulifera), and sweet gale (Myrica gale) [14,16].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
NO-ENTRY


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
In the Pacific Northwest, fruit matures from June to August [6].

FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Kobresia simpliciuscula | Simple Kobresia 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   Tussock graminoid

FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Kobresia simpliciuscula | Simple Kobresia 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
NO-ENTRY


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
NO-ENTRY


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY

References for species: Kobresia simpliciuscula

1. Arnold, Sylvia M. 1973. Interactions of light and temperature on the germination of Plantago maritima L. New Phytologist. 72: 583-593. [13204]

2. Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p. [434]

3. Cranston, D. M.; Valentine, D. H. 1983. Transplant experiments on rare plant species from Upper Teesdale. Biological Conservation. 26: 175-191. [14231]

4. Dittberner, Phillip L.; Olson, Michael R. 1983. The plant information network (PIN) data base: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. FWS/OBS-83/86. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. 786 p. [806]

5. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others]. 1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]

6. Hitchcock, C. Leo; Cronquist, Arthur; Ownbey, Marion. 1969. Vascular plants of the Pacific Northwest. Part 1: Vascular cryptograms, gymnosperms, and monocotyledons. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press. 914 p. [1169]

7. Hulten, Eric. 1968. Flora of Alaska and neighboring territories. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. 1008 p. [13403]

8. Jeffrey, D. W.; Pigott, C. D. 1973. The response of grasslands on sugar-limestone in Teesdale to application of phosphorus and nitrogen. Journal of Ecology. 61: 85-92. [13847]

9. Kartesz, John T.; Kartesz, Rosemarie. 1980. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. Volume II: The biota of North America. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press; in confederation with Anne H. Lindsey and C. Richie Bell, North Carolina Botanical Garden. 500 p. [6954]

10. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York: American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]

11. Lesica, Peter. 1984. Rare vascular plants of Glacier National Park, Montana. Missoula, MT: University of Montana, Department of Botany. 27 p. [12049]

12. Moss, E. H. 1955. The vegetation of Alberta. Botanical Review. 21(9): 493-567. [6878]

13. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]

14. Riley, J. L. 1979. Some new and interesting vascular plant records from northern Ontario. Canadian Field-Naturalist. 93(4): 355-362. [13845]

15. Shelly, J. Stephen, compiler. 1990. Plant species of special concern. Helena, MT: Montana Natural Heritage Program. 20 p. [12960]

16. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Region. 1988. Sensitive plant field guide [Montana]. Missoula, MT. [12279]

17. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982. National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names. SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p. [11573]

18. Welsh, Stanley L.; Atwood, N. Duane; Goodrich, Sherel; Higgins, Larry C., eds. 1987. A Utah flora. The Great Basin Naturalist Memoir No. 9. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University. 894 p. [2944]

19. Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern Rocky Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT; RWU 4403 files. 10 p. [20090]

20. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]

Related categories for Species: Kobresia simpliciuscula | Simple Kobresia