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].

Related categories for Species: Kobresia simpliciuscula | Simple Kobresia