View source for Carex

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = Carex diversity in south-west France.jpg
| image_caption = Various species of sedges
| taxon = Carex
| authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]
| diversity = 2000+ species
| diversity_link = List of Carex species
| type_species = ''[[Carex hirta]]''
| type_species_authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]&nbsp;<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Ilkka Kukkonen |author2=Heikki Toivonen |year=1988 |title=Taxonomy of wetland carices |journal=[[Aquatic Botany]] |volume=30 |issue=1–2 |pages=5–22 |doi=10.1016/0304-3770(88)90003-4 <!-- |editor=J. M. Bernard |work=CAREX, Trebon, Czechoslovakia, 13–23 June 1984-->|bibcode=1988AqBot..30....5K }}</ref>
| range_map = Areal carex.jpg
| range_map_caption = Global distribution of ''Carex'' (green)
| synonyms = {{collapsible list |
*''Agistron'' <small>Raf.</small>
*''Ammorrhiza'' <small>Ehrh.</small>
*''Anithista'' <small>Raf.</small>
*''Archaeocarex'' <small>Börner</small>
*''Baeochortus'' <small>Ehrh.</small>
*''Bitteria'' <small>Börner</small>
*''Blysmocarex'' <small>N.A.Ivanova</small>
*''Callistachys'' <small>Heuff.</small>
*''Caricella'' <small>Ehrh.</small>
*''Caricina'' <small>St.-Lag.</small>
*''Caricinella'' <small>St.-Lag.</small>
*''Chionanthula'' <small>Börner</small>
*''Chordorrhiza'' <small>Ehrh.</small>
*''Cobresia'' <small>Pers.</small>
*''Coleachyron'' <small>J.Gay ex Boiss.</small>
*''Cryptoglochin'' <small>Heuff.</small>
*''Cymophyllus'' <small>Mack. ex Britton & A.Br.</small>
*''Cyperoides'' <small>Ség.</small>
*''Dapedostachys'' <small>Börner</small>
*''Desmiograstis'' <small>Börner</small>
*''Deweya'' <small>Raf.</small>
*''Diemisa'' <small>Raf.</small>
*''Diplocarex'' <small>Hayata</small>
*''Dornera'' <small>Heuff. ex Schur</small>
*''Drymeia'' <small>Ehrh.</small>
*''Echinochlaenia'' <small>Börner</small>
*''Edritria'' <small>Raf.</small>
*''Elyna'' <small>Schrad.</small>
*''Facolos'' <small>Raf.</small>
*''Forexeta'' <small>Raf.</small>
*''Froelichia'' <small>Wulfen</small>
*''Genersichia'' <small>Heuff.</small>
*''Heleonastes'' <small>Ehrh.</small>
*''Hemicarex'' <small>Benth.</small>
*''Heuffelia'' <small>Opiz</small>
*''Holmia'' <small>Börner</small>
*''Homalostachys'' <small>Boeckeler</small>
*''Itheta'' <small>Raf.</small>
*''Kobresia'' <small>Willd.</small>
*''Kobria'' <small>St.-Lag.</small>
*''Kolerma'' <small>Raf.</small>
*''Kuekenthalia'' <small>Börner</small>
*''Lamprochlaenia'' <small>Börner</small>
*''Leptostachys'' <small>Ehrh.</small>
*''Leptovignea'' <small>Börner</small>
*''Leucoglochin'' <small>Heuff.</small>
*''Limivasculum'' <small>Börner</small>
*''Limonaetes'' <small>Ehrh.</small>
*''Loncoperis'' <small>Raf.</small>
*''Loxanisa'' <small>Raf.</small>
*''Loxotrema'' <small>Raf.</small>
*''Manochlaenia'' <small>Börner</small>
*''Maukschia'' <small>Heuff.</small>
*''Meltrema'' <small>Raf.</small>
*''Neilreichia'' <small>Kotula</small>
*''Neskiza'' <small>Raf.</small>
*''Olamblis'' <small>Raf.</small>
*''Olotrema'' <small>Raf.</small>
*''Onkerma'' <small>Raf.</small>
*''Osculisa'' <small>Raf.</small>
*''Phaeolorum'' <small>Ehrh.</small>
*''Phyllostachys'' <small>Torr.</small>
*''Physiglochis'' <small>Neck.</small>
*''Polyglochin'' <small>Ehrh.</small>
*''Proteocarpus'' <small>Börner</small>
*''Pseudocarex'' <small>Miq.</small>
*''Psyllophora'' <small>Ehrh.</small>
*''Ptacoseia'' <small>Ehrh.</small>
*''Rhaptocalymma'' <small>Borrer</small>
*''Rhynchopera'' <small>Börner</small>
*''Schelhammeria'' <small>Moench</small>
*''Schoenoxiphium'' <small>Nees</small>
*''Temnemis'' <small>Raf.</small>
*''Thysanocarex'' <small>Börner</small>
*''Trasus'' <small>Gray</small>
*''Ulva'' <small>Adans.</small>
*''Uncinia'' <small>Pers.</small>
*''Vesicarex'' <small>Steyerm.</small>
*''Vignantha'' <small>Schur</small>
*''Vignea'' <small>P.Beauv. ex T.Lestib.</small>
*''Vignidula'' <small>Börner</small>
}}
|synonyms_ref =<ref name=powo>{{Cite POWO | id= 330029-2 | title=''Carex'' L. |access-date=11 May 2024 }}</ref>
}}
'''''Carex''''' is a vast [[genus]] of over 2,000 [[species]]<ref name=powo/> of grass-like [[plant]]s in the [[family (biology)|family]] [[Cyperaceae]], commonly known as sedges (or seg, in older books). Other members of the family Cyperaceae are also called sedges, however those of genus ''Carex'' may be called '''true sedges''', and it is the most species-rich genus in the family. The study of ''Carex'' is known as '''caricology'''.
==Description==
All species of ''Carex'' are [[perennial plant|perennial]],<ref name="Mohlenbrock">{{cite book |author1=Robert H. Mohlenbrock |author2=Paul Wayne Nelson |year=1999 |title=Sedges: ''Carex'' |series=Volume 14 of The Illustrated flora of Illinois |publisher=[[Southern Illinois University Press]] |isbn=978-0-8093-2074-5 |chapter=Introduction |pages=3–7 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1ZGekaNQ4YAC&pg=PA3}}</ref> although some species, such as ''[[Carex bebbii|C.&nbsp;bebbii]]'' and ''[[Carex viridula|C.&nbsp;viridula]]'' can fruit in their first year of growth, and may not survive longer.<ref name="FNA">{{cite book |url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=105644 |chapter=''Carex'' Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 972. 1753; Gen. Pl. ed. 5, 420. 1754 |series=[[Flora of North America|Flora of North America North of Mexico]] |volume=23 |title=Magnoliophyta: Commelinidae (in part): Cyperaceae |author1=Peter W. Ball |author2=A. A. Reznicek |year=2002 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-515207-4 |pages=254–258}}</ref> They typically have [[rhizome]]s, [[stolon]]s or short [[rootstock]]s, but some species grow in tufts ([[caespitose]]). The [[culm (botany)|culm]] – the flower-bearing stalk – is unbranched and usually erect. It is usually distinctly triangular in section.<ref name="Mohlenbrock"/>
The [[leaf|leaves]] of ''Carex'' comprise a blade, which extends away from the stalk, and a sheath, which encloses part of the stalk. The blade is normally long and flat, but may be folded, inrolled, channelled or absent. The leaves have parallel [[leaf vein|veins]] and a distinct midrib. Where the blade meets the culm there is a structure called the [[ligule]].<ref name="Mohlenbrock"/> The colour of foliage may be green, red or brown, and "ranges from fine and hair-like, sometimes with curled tips, to quite broad with a noticeable midrib and sometimes razor sharp edges".<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite book |author=Amjad Almusaed |year=2010 |title=Biophilic and Bioclimatic Architecture: Analytical Therapy for the Next Generation of Passive Sustainable Architecture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mcRK-xlKMYIC&pg=PA52 |publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media|Springer]] |isbn=978-1-84996-534-7 |page=52}}</ref>
[[File:Carex panicea kz.jpg|thumb|upright|In this ''[[Carex panicea]]'', the upper spike contains male flowers, and the lower spike contains female flowers.]]
The flowers of ''Carex'' are small and are combined into [[Spike (botany)|spikes]], which are themselves combined into a larger [[inflorescence]]. The spike typically contains many flowers, but can hold as few as one in some species. Almost all ''Carex'' species are [[monoecious]]; each flower is either male (staminate) or female (pistillate).<ref name="Mohlenbrock"/> A few species are dioecious. Sedges exhibit diverse arrangements of male and female flowers. Often, the lower spikes are entirely pistillate and upper spikes staminate, with one or more spikes in between having pistillate flowers near the base and staminate flowers near the tip.<ref name="Jermy">{{cite book |author1=A. C. Jermy |author2=D. A. Simpson |author3=M. J. Y. Foley |author4=M. S. Porter |year=2007 |title=Sedges of the British Isles |edition=3rd |series=BSBI Handbook No. 1 |isbn=978-0-901158-35-2 |publisher=[[Botanical Society of the British Isles]] |chapter=General structure of Cyperaceae |pages=2–26}}</ref> In other species, all spikes are similar. In that case, they may have male flowers above and female flowers below (androgynous) or female flowers above and male flowers below (gynecandrous). In relatively few species, the arrangement of flowers is irregular.{{cn|date=November 2024}}
The defining structure of the genus ''Carex'' is the bottle-shaped bract surrounding each female flower. This structure is called the perigynium or utricle, a modified prophyll. It is typically extended into a "rostrum" or beak, which is often divided at the tip (bifid) into two teeth.<ref name="Jermy"/> The shape, venation, and vestiture (hairs) of the perigynium are important structures for distinguishing ''Carex'' species.{{cn|date=November 2024}}
The [[fruit]] of ''Carex'' is a dry, one-seeded indehiscent [[achene]] or [[Nut (fruit)|nut]]<ref name="Mohlenbrock"/> which grows within the perigynium. Perigynium features aid in fruit dispersal.{{cn|date=November 2024}}
==Ecology and distribution==
''Carex'' species are found across most of the world, albeit with few species in tropical lowlands, and relatively few in [[sub-Saharan Africa]].<ref name="FNA"/> Most (but not all) sedges are found in [[wetland]]s – such as [[marsh]]es, [[Fen|calcareous fens]], [[bog]]s and other [[peat]]lands, [[Bank (geography)|pond and stream banks]], [[riparian zone]]s, and even ditches.<ref name="Jermy"/> They are one of the dominant plant groups in [[Arctic tundra|arctic]] and [[alpine tundra]], and in wetland habitats with a water depth of up to {{convert|50|cm|abbr=on}}.<ref name="FNA"/>
==Taxonomy and cytogenetics==
{{Main|List of Carex species}}
The genus ''Carex'' was established by [[Carl Linnaeus]] in his work ''[[Species Plantarum]]'' in 1753, and it is one of the [[List of the largest genera of flowering plants|largest genera of flowering plants]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=David G. Frodin |year=2004 |title=History and concepts of big plant genera |journal=[[Taxon (journal)|Taxon]] |volume=53 |issue=3 |pages=753–776 |jstor=4135449 |doi=10.2307/4135449}}</ref> Estimates of the number of species vary from about 1100 to almost 2000.<ref name="FNA"/> ''Carex'' displays the most dynamic chromosome evolution of all flowering plants. [[Chromosome number]]s range from ''n''&nbsp;=&nbsp;6 to ''n''&nbsp;=&nbsp;66, and over 100 species are known to show variation in chromosome number within the species, with differences of up to 10 chromosomes between populations.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Andrew L. Hipp |author2=Paul E. Rothrock |author3=Eric H. Roalson |year=2009 |title=The evolution of chromosome arrangements in ''Carex'' (Cyperaceae) |journal=[[The Botanical Review]] |volume=75 |issue=1 |pages=96–109 |doi=10.1007/s12229-008-9022-8 |bibcode=2009BotRv..75...96H |s2cid=4489708 |url=http://systematics.mortonarb.org/lab/publications/Hipp-et-al-2009_BotRev_CarexChromosomesReview.pdf |access-date=2012-10-21 |archive-date=2015-02-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213210218/http://systematics.mortonarb.org/lab/publications/Hipp-et-al-2009_BotRev_CarexChromosomesReview.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
The genomes of ''[[Carex kokanica]], [[Carex parvula]]'' and ''[[Carex littledalei]]'' have been sequenced.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Can |first1=Muyou |last2=Wei |first2=Wei |last3=Zi |first3=Hailing |last4=Bai |first4=Magaweng |last5=Liu |first5=Yunfei |last6=Gao |first6=Dan |last7=Tu |first7=Dengqunpei |last8=Bao |first8=Yuhong |last9=Wang |first9=Li |last10=Chen |first10=Shaofeng |last11=Zhao |first11=Xing |last12=Qu |first12=Guangpeng |date=2020-06-11 |title=Genome sequence of ''Kobresia littledalei'', the first chromosome-level genome in the family Cyperaceae |journal=Scientific Data |language=en |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=175 |doi=10.1038/s41597-020-0518-3 |issn=2052-4463 |pmc=7289886 |pmid=32528014|bibcode=2020NatSD...7..175C }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Qu |first1=Guangpeng |last2=Bao |first2=Yuhong |last3=Liao |first3=Yangci |last4=Liu |first4=Can |last5=Zi |first5=Hailing |last6=Bai |first6=Magaweng |last7=Liu |first7=Yunfei |last8=Tu |first8=Dengqunpei |last9=Wang |first9=Li |last10=Chen |first10=Shaofeng |last11=Zhou |first11=Gang |last12=Can |first12=Muyou |date=2022-03-23 |title=Draft genomes assembly and annotation of ''Carex parvula'' and ''Carex kokanica'' reveals stress-specific genes |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=4970 |doi=10.1038/s41598-022-08783-z |issn=2045-2322 |pmc=8943043 |pmid=35322069|bibcode=2022NatSR..12.4970Q }}</ref>
''Carex'' has been divided into [[subgenus|subgenera]] in a number of ways. The most influential was [[Georg Kükenthal]]'s classification using four subgenera – ''Carex'', ''Vignea'', ''Indocarex'' and ''Primocarex'' – based primarily on the arrangement of the male and female flowers.<ref name="FNA"/> There has been considerable debate about the status of these four groups, with some species being transferred between groups and some authors, such as [[Kenneth Kent Mackenzie]], eschewing the subgenera altogether and dividing the genus directly into [[section (botany)|sections]].<ref name="FNA"/> The genus is now divided into around four subgenera, some of which may not, however, be monophyletic:<ref name="Starr"/>
*[[Carex subg. Carex|''Carex'' subg. ''Carex'']] – 1450 species, distributed globally<ref name="FOC">{{cite book |chapter=33. ''Carex'' Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 972. 1753. 薹草属 tai cao shu |series=[[Flora of China (series)|Flora of China]] |volume=23 |title=Acoraceae through Cyperaceae |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |author1=Dai Lunkai |author2=Liang Songyun |author3=Zhang Shuren |author4=Tang Yancheng |author5=Tetsuo Koyama |author6=Gordon C. Tucker |pages=285–461 |url=http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/PDF/PDF23/Carex.pdf }}</ref>
*[[Carex subg. Psyllophora|''Carex'' subg. ''Psyllophora'']] <small>(Degl.) Peterm.</small> (equivalent to Kükenthal's "''Primocarex''") – 70 species<ref name="Starr"/>
*[[Carex subg. Vignea|''Carex'' subg. ''Vignea'']] <small>(P. Beauv. ''ex'' T. Lestib.) Peterm.</small> – 350 species, cosmopolitan<ref name="FOC"/>
*[[Carex subg. Vigneastra|''Carex'' subg. ''Vigneastra'']] <small>(Tuckerman) Kükenthal</small> (equivalent to Kükenthal's "''Indocarex''"<ref name="Starr">{{cite book |author1=Julian R. Starr |author2=Stephen A. Harris |author3=David A. Simpson |year=2008 |chapter=Phylogeny of the unispicate taxa in Cyperaceae Tribe Cariceae II: the limits of ''Uncinia'' |editor1=Robert F. C. Naczi |editor2=Bruce A. Ford |title=Sedges: Uses, Diversity, and Systematics of the Cyperaceae |publisher=[[Missouri Botanical Garden Press]] |series=Monographs in Systematic Botany |volume=180 |isbn=978-1-930723-72-6 |url=http://mysite.science.uottawa.ca/jstarr/12.pdf |format=[[Portable Document Format|PDF]] proof |access-date=2013-06-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171110114735/http://mysite.science.uottawa.ca/jstarr/12.pdf |archive-date=2017-11-10 |url-status=dead }}</ref>) – 100 species, tropical and subtropical Asia<ref name="FOC"/>
==Fossil record==
Several [[fossil]] fruits of two ''Carex'' species have been described from [[middle Miocene]] [[strata]] of the Fasterholt area near [[Silkeborg]] in Central [[Jutland]], [[Denmark]].<ref>Angiosperm Fruits and Seeds from the Middle Miocene of Jutland (Denmark) by [[Else Marie Friis]], The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters 24:3, 1985</ref>
==Uses==
===Ornamental===
''Carex'' species and [[cultivar]]s are popular in [[horticulture]], particularly in shady positions.<ref>{{cite book |author=Judy Lowe |year=2012 |title=Tennessee & Kentucky Garden Guide: the Best Plants for a Tennessee or Kentucky Garden |edition=2nd |publisher=[[Cool Springs Press]] |isbn=978-1-59186-537-7 |page=178 |chapter=''Carex''}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor=Frances Tenenbaum |year=2003 |title=Taylor's Encyclopedia of Garden Plants |publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]] |isbn=978-0-618-22644-3 |pages=74–75 |chapter=''Carex''}}</ref> [[Native plant|Native species]] are used in [[Natural environment|wildland]] [[habitat]] [[Restoration ecology|restoration]] projects, [[natural landscaping]], and in [[sustainable landscaping]] as [[Xeriscaping|drought-tolerant]] grass replacements for [[lawn]]s and garden [[meadow]]s.<ref name="nativesons">{{cite web |url=http://www.nativeson.com/annotated_catalog/grasscatalog.htm |title=Grasses and grasslike plants |publisher=Native Sons |access-date=May 22, 2010}}</ref> Some require damp or wet conditions, others are relatively drought-tolerant. [[Plant propagation|Propagation]] is by [[seed]] or [[Division (horticulture)|division]] in spring.<ref name=rhsaz>{{cite book|title=RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants|year=2008|publisher=Dorling Kindersley|location=United Kingdom|isbn=978-1-4053-3296-5|page=1136}}</ref>
The [[cultivar]]s ''[[Carex elata]]'' 'Aurea' (Bowles' golden sedge)<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/89736/Carex-elata-Aurea/Details | title = ''Carex elata'' 'Aurea' (Bowles' golden sedge) | publisher = RHS | access-date = 12 April 2020}}</ref> and ''[[Carex oshimensis]]'' 'Evergold' <ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/45191/Carex-oshimensis-Evergold-(v)/Details
| title = ''Carex oshimensis'' 'Evergold' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 12 April 2020}}</ref> have received the [[Royal Horticultural Society]]'s [[Award of Garden Merit]].
===Other uses===
A mix of dried specimens of several species of ''Carex'' (including ''[[Carex vesicaria]]'') have a history of being used as thermal insulation in footwear (such as ''[[nutukas]]'' used by [[Sámi people]]<ref name="nouer">{{Cite journal|year=1994|title=Bruk av land og vann i Finnmark i historisk perspektiv |language=no|trans-title=The use of land and water in Finnmark in historical perspective|journal=Norges Offentlige Utredninger|volume=1994|issue=21|publisher=[[Ministry of Justice and Public Security|Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Public Security]]|url=http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/jd/dok/nouer/1994/nou-1994-21/16/5/11.html?id=455576|access-date=29 April 2020}}</ref>). ''[[Sennegrass]]'' is one of the names for such mixes.<ref name="nouer"/> During [[Amundsen's South Pole expedition|the first human expedition to the South Pole]] in 1911, such a mix were used in ''skaller'', when camps had been set (after each stretch of travelling had been completed).<ref>{{cite news |title=Blir ikke varm i rått reinskinn |newspaper=[[Aftenposten]] |date=December 14, 2011 |author=Ole Mathismoen |page=17 |language=no |quote=...&nbsp;skalder med senegress fra Kautokeino til bruk når de hadde slått leir.}}</ref> Carsten Borchgrevink of the British Antarctic Expedition 1898-1900 reported "I found the Lapps method of never using socks in their Finn boots answered well. Socks are never used in Finnmarken in winter time, but 'senne grass' which they, of course, had a special method of arranging in the 'komager' (Finn boots) … if you get wet feet while wearing the grass in the 'komager' you will be warmer than ever, as the fresh grass will, by the moisture and the heat of your feet, in a way start to burn or produce its own heat by spontaneous combustion. The great thing seems to be to arrange the grass properly in the boots, and although we all tried to imitate the Finns in their skill at this work, none of us felt as warm on our feet as when they had helped us."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Borchgrevink|first1=Carston|title=First on the Antarctic continent. Being an account of the British Antarctic Expedition, 1898 – 1900|date=1980 |origyear=1901|publisher=Hurst and Co. |location=London}}</ref>
Species serve as a food source for numerous animals,<ref name=crites2005>{{cite book |author1=Ronald W. Crites |author2=E. Joe Middlebrooks |author3=Sherwood C. Reed |year=2005 |title=Natural Wastewater Treatment Systems |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X5uuikcVyfEC&pg=PA263 |publisher=[[CRC Press]] |isbn=978-1-4200-2644-3 |page=263}}</ref> and some are used as a livestock hay.<ref name=Lahring2003>{{cite book |author=Heinjo Lahring |year=2003 |title=Water and Wetland Plants of the Prairie Provinces |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mXRbZs5CHcgC&pg=PA114 |publisher=[[University of Regina Press]] |isbn=978-0-88977-162-8 |page=114}}</ref><ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite book |author=Joel Greenberg |title=Of Prairie, Woods, and Water: Two Centuries of Chicago Nature Writing |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8ZcV3re4qGcC&pg=PA206 |year=2010 |publisher=ReadHowYouWant.com |isbn=978-1-4596-0615-9 |page=206}}</ref>
===Use by Native Americans===
The [[Blackfoot]] put carex in [[moccasins]] to protect the feet during winter.<ref>Johnston, Alex, 1987, Plants and the Blackfoot, Lethbridge, Alberta. Lethbridge Historical Society, page 22</ref> The [[Cherokee]] use an infusion of the leaf to "check bowels".<ref>Hamel, Paul B. and Mary U. Chiltoskey, 1975, Cherokee Plants and Their Uses -- A 400 Year History, Sylva, N.C. Herald Publishing Co., page 54</ref> The [[Ohlone]] use the roots of many species for basketry.<ref>Bocek, Barbara R., 1984, Ethnobotany of Costanoan Indians, California, Based on Collections by John P. Harrington, Economic Botany 38(2):240-255, page 255</ref> The [[Goshute]] use the root as medicine.<ref>Chamberlin, Ralph V., 1911, The Ethno-Botany of the Gosiute Indians of Utah, Memoirs of the American Anthropological Association 2(5):331-405., page 365</ref> The [[Jemez Pueblo, New Mexico|Jemez]] consider the plant sacred and use it in the [[kiva]].<ref>Cook, Sarah Louise, 1930, The Ethnobotany of Jemez Indians., University of New Mexico, M.A. Thesis, page 21</ref> The [[Klamath people]] weave the leaves into mats, use the juice of the pith as a beverage, eat the fresh stems for food and use the tuberous base of the stem for food.<ref>Coville, Frederick V., 1897, Notes On The Plants Used By The Klamath Indians Of Oregon., Contributions from the U.S. National Herbarium 5(2):87-110, page 92</ref> The indigenous people of [[Mendocino County, California]] use the rootstocks to make baskets and rope.<ref>Chestnut, V. K., 1902, Plants Used by the Indians of Mendocino County, California, Contributions from the U.S. National Herbarium 7:295-408., page 314</ref> The indigenous people of [[Montana]] also weave the leaves into mats and use the young stems as food.<ref>Blankinship, J. W., 1905, Native Economic Plants of Montana, Bozeman. Montana Agricultural College Experimental Station, Bulletin 56, page 9</ref> The [[Navajo]] of [[Kayenta, Arizona]] grind the seeds into mush and eat them.<ref>Wyman, Leland C. and Stuart K. Harris, 1951, The Ethnobotany of the Kayenta Navaho, Albuquerque. The University of New Mexico Press, page 16</ref> The [[Oregon]] [[Paiute]] weave it to make spoons.<ref>Mahar, James Michael., 1953, Ethnobotany of the Oregon Paiutes of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, Reed College, B.A. Thesis, page 52</ref> The [[Pomo]] use the roots to make baskets,<ref>Merriam, C. Hart, 1966, Ethnographic Notes on California Indian Tribes, University of California Archaeological Research Facility, Berkeley, page 296</ref><ref>Gifford, E. W., 1967, Ethnographic Notes on the Southwestern Pomo, Anthropological Records 25:10-15, page 11</ref> and use it to tend fishing traps.<ref name="Gifford, E. W. 1967, page 12">Gifford, E. W., 1967, Ethnographic Notes on the Southwestern Pomo, Anthropological Records 25:10-15, page 12</ref> They also use it to make torches.<ref name="Gifford, E. W. 1967, page 12"/> The [[Coast Salish]] use the leaves to make baskets and twine.<ref name="Turner 1971, page 73">Turner, Nancy Chapman and Marcus A. M. Bell, 1971, The Ethnobotany of the Coast Salish Indians of Vancouver Island, I and II, Economic Botany 25(1):63-104, 335-339, page 73</ref> The [[Songhees]] eat the leaves to induce abortions.<ref name="Turner 1971, page 73"/> The [[Nlaka'pamux]] used the leaves as brushes for cleaning things and use the leaves as [[forage]] for their livestock.<ref>Turner, Nancy J., Laurence C. Thompson and M. Terry Thompson et al., 1990, Thompson Ethnobotany: Knowledge and Usage of Plants by the Thompson Indians of British Columbia, Victoria. Royal British Columbia Museum, page 114</ref> The [[Wailaki]] weave the roots and leaves into baskets and use the leaves to weave mats.<ref>Chestnut, V. K., 1902, Plants Used by the Indians of Mendocino County, California, Contributions from the U.S. National Herbarium 7:295-408., page 315</ref> The [[Yuki people]] use the large roots to make baskets.<ref>Curtin, L. S. M., 1957, Some Plants Used by the Yuki Indians ... II. Food Plants, The Masterkey 31:85-94, page 93</ref>
== See also ==
* [[List of Carex species]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{Commons category|Carex}}
* Jones, T.&nbsp;M. (2010) [http://www.herbarium2.lsu.edu/aba/index.html Interactive Visual Identification to Carices of North America @ LSU Herbarium]
* [http://cyperaceae.e-monocot.org/ eMonocot Cyperaceae] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130715202432/http://cyperaceae.e-monocot.org/ |date=2013-07-15 }}, a portal to updated classification, images, species descriptions, and vetted specimen data for the entire sedge family, with a strong focus on ''Carex''.
{{Taxonbar|from=Q158501}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Carex| ]]
[[Category:Cyperaceae genera]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]
[[Category:Plants used in Native American cuisine]]
[[Category:Plants used in traditional Native American medicine]]