Your help is appreciated. We depend on donations to help keep this site free and up to date for you. Can you please help us?

Donate

Native Plant Trust: Go Botany Discover thousands of New England plants

Carex alopecoidea — fox-tail sedge

Copyright: various copyright holders. To reuse an image, please click it to see who you will need to contact.

Facts

Fox-tail sedge is rare and a species of conservation concern in parts of New England. It is found mainly in far-western New England, on alkaline soils in riparian forests and stream-side marshes, where it apparently benefits from seasonal flooding. Similar species include common fox sedge (Carex vulpinoidea), and awl-fruited sedge (C. stipata), both of which have corrugated leaf sheaths (unlike the smooth leaf sheaths of fox-tail sedge); and smooth-sheathed sedge (C. laevivaginata), which has smooth sheaths but lacks the red dots on the leaf sheaths of fox-tail sedge.

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), floodplain (river or stream floodplains), forests, marshes

New England distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

Found this plant? Take a photo and post a sighting.

North America distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

enlarge

Characteristics

Habitat
  • terrestrial
  • wetlands
New England state
  • Connecticut
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • Vermont
stem leaf blade width
Up to 7 mm
Lowest bract sheath
the lowest bract has no sheath (or a very short sheath up to four millimeters in length)
Spike on stalk
the lowest spike on the plant is not borne on a peduncle
Top spike
the uppermost spike contains both staminate and carpellate flowers, with the carpellate flowers located below, or intermixed with, the staminate flowers
Perigynium hairs
the perigynium has no hairs
Perigynium length
3–4 mm
Leaf sheath color
  • the leaf sheath has no pink, red or purple tinting
  • the leaf sheath is tinted pink, red or purple
Leaf blade texture
the leaf blade is smooth and hairless, or rough and sandpapery
Perigynium beak teeth
the perigynium beak is divided at the top into two teeth
Show all characteristics

  • Flowers

    Bumps on fruit
    there are no papillae on the perigynium surface
    Inflorescence length
    20–40 mm
    Length of scale
    the scale is shorter than the perigynium
    Lowest spike stalk length
    0 mm
    Perigynium beak
    the perigynium has a beak
    Perigynium beak length
    Up to 2 mm
    Perigynium beak orientation
    the beak of the perigynium is straight, and in line with the perigynium
    Perigynium beak serrations
    the perigynium beak has tiny serrations along the edges
    Perigynium beak teeth
    the perigynium beak is divided at the top into two teeth
    Perigynium color
    • brown
    • tan
    • yellow
    Perigynium cross-section
    the perigynium is planoconvex (flat on one surface and rounded on the other) in cross-section
    Perigynium hairs
    the perigynium has no hairs
    Perigynium length
    3–4 mm
    Perigynium nerve number
    0–5
    Perigynium nerve texture
    • NA
    • the nerves on the perigynium are raised, even after drying the perigynium
    Perigynium nerves lower side
    0–5
    Perigynium nerves upper side
    0
    Perigynium orientation
    • the perigynia are angled outwards
    • the perigynia are oriented vertically or pressed against the axis or adjacent perigynia
    Perigynium puffy
    the achene is tightly enclosed by the perigynium
    Perigynium shape
    the perigynium body is ovate (egg-shaped)
    Perigynium width
    1.5–1.7 mm
    Perigynium winged
    the perigynium has no wings
    Pollen- and seed-producing spikes
    some of the spikes produce perigynia
    Pollen-producing spike length
    0 mm
    Pollen-producing spike number
    0
    Pollen-producing spike peduncle length
    0 mm
    Pollen-producing spike width
    0 mm
    Scale awn
    The carpellate scale does not have an awn (it may have a short point)
    Scale awn texture
    NA
    Scale color
    • red-brown
    • white or translucent
    Scale tip
    the carpellate scale tip is acuminate (tapered to a narrow point)
    Spike on stalk
    the lowest spike on the plant is not borne on a peduncle
    Spike orientation
    the spikes are oriented vertically or pressed against the axis
    Spikes per stem
    • 2-15
    • more than 15
    Stigma branching
    the stigmas have two branches
    Top spike
    the uppermost spike contains both staminate and carpellate flowers, with the carpellate flowers located below, or intermixed with, the staminate flowers

  • Fruits or seeds

    Achene dimples
    the achene has no folds or dimples
    Achene length
    1.5 mm
    Achene width
    1.3 mm
    Style persistence
    the style falls off the mature achenes

  • Growth form

    Rhizomes
    there are no rhizomes, or the rhizomes are very short

  • Leaves

    Leaf arrangement
    the leaves are all produced from the base of the plant
    Leaf blade cross-section
    The leaf blade is folded lengthwise, with one prominent midvien
    Leaf blade length to width ratio
    Up to 85
    Leaf blade texture
    the leaf blade is smooth and hairless, or rough and sandpapery
    Leaf bumps
    the upper surface of the leaf blade does not have papillae
    Leaf sheath bumps
    there are no papillae at the top edge of the leaf sheath
    Leaf sheath color
    • the leaf sheath has no pink, red or purple tinting
    • the leaf sheath is tinted pink, red or purple
    Leaf sheath dots
    there are red dots on the translucent tissues of the leaf sheathes
    Leaf sheath folds
    there are no corrugations on the leaf sheath
    Leaf sheath texture
    the leaf sheath feels smooth, and has no hairs
    Ligule length
    5 mm
    Lowest bract sheath
    the lowest bract has no sheath (or a very short sheath up to four millimeters in length)
    Lowest leaf blade width
    Up to 7 mm
    Lowest leaf sheath texture
    the leaf sheath feels smooth (it may have soft hairs)
    stem leaf blade width
    Up to 7 mm

  • Place

    Habitat
    • terrestrial
    • wetlands
    New England state
    • Connecticut
    • Maine
    • Massachusetts
    • Vermont
    Specific habitat
    • forests
    • man-made or disturbed habitats
    • marshes
    • river or stream floodplains

  • Stem, shoot, branch

    Plant height
    Up to 80 cm
    Relative stem height
    the main stem is equal to or shorter than the leaves
    Spike internode length
    Up to 0.5 mm
    Stem cross-section
    • the main stem has all three edges raised to narrow wing-like ridges
    • the main stem is roughly triangular in cross-section
    Stem spacing
    the stems grow close together in compact clusters or tufts

Wetland status

Usually occurs in wetlands, but occasionally in non-wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: FACW)

In New England

Distribution

Connecticut
present
Maine
present
Massachusetts
present
New Hampshire
absent
Rhode Island
absent
Vermont
present

Conservation status

Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.

Connecticut
extremely rare (S-rank: S1), threatened (code: T)
Maine
historical (S-rank: SH), potentially extirpated (code: PE)
Massachusetts
rare (S-rank: S2), threatened (code: T)
Vermont
extremely rare (S-rank: S1)

From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key

192.  Carex alopecoidea Tuckerman NC

fox-tail sedge. CT, MA, ME, VT. Usually associated with riverine systems, such as riparian forests and stream-side marshes, rarely also in ditches and other low, wet areas associated with high-pH bedrock.

Native to North America?

Yes

Sometimes confused with

Carex stipata:
perigynia truncate and conspicuously spongy-thickened at the base, with usually 7 veins on the adaxial surface, sheaths not spotted near the margins (vs. C. alopecuroidea, with perigynia rounded and inconspicuously spongy- thickened at the base, without veins on the adaxial surface, and sheaths red- or brown-dotted near the margins).

Family

Cyperaceae

Genus

Carex