Cedar Creek Natural History Area

Plants of Cedar Creek

   The Sedge Family is a large taxonomically difficult one with 83 species in 10 genera occurring on the Area.  The dominant genera are Carex (48 spp), Cyperus (9 spp), Scirpus (9 spp), Eleocharis (6 spp) and Eriophorum (5 spp). Rhynchospora and Cladium are the only genera in this family that have Minnesota but no Cedar Creek representatives.  I will discuss the smaller genera occurring here first.

    Bulbostylis capillaris is a rare species of sandy open places.  Dulichium arundinaceum (3-way Sedge) is common in the tamarack-black spruce swamp bordering Beckman Lake.  It also occurs in the extensive tamarack swamp west of Beckman Lake.  Fimbristylis autumnalis (Fimbristylis) and Hemicarpha micrantha (Hemicarpha) occur along the sandy east shore of Fish Lake. Scleria triglomerata(Tall Nut Rush) is a short-statured ‘state endangered’ species found along the rim of wet depressions in the burn area south of Fish Lake.

    The most common of the five species of Eriophorum (Cottongrass) is E. virginicum.  This tall late season bloomer fills much of the sphagnum/sedge mat bordering Beckman Lake.  It also occurs in the extensive tamarack/sphagnum swamp west of the lake. E. vaginatum sbsp spissum is an early-season, short, tussock forming cottongrass found in the tamarack swamp bordering Beckman Lake. E. chamissonis occurs at Beckman Lake and Sandhill Crane Marsh south of Fish Lake. E. angustifolium is found in 70 ft Tower Bog and in Crane Marsh.  E. viridicarinatum is reported for sphagnum mats.

    The most common of the six species of Eleocharis (Spike Rush) is E. acicularis.  This tiny plant (less than 10 cm tall)  is abundandant along the sandy shoreline of Fish Lake.  E. smallii is a larger Spike Rush found in the sandy shallows of Fish Lake. Other Spike Rushes found at marsh or fen margins include: E. compressa, E. erythropoda, E. obtusa, and E. ovata.

    The most common of the nine species of Scirpus (Bulrush) is S. cyperinus (Common Wool Grass).  This tall species is common in marshes.  A tall distinctive species of marsh and mucky pond edges is S. atrocinctus (Black-spiked Wool Grass). S. validus (Softstem Bulrush) and S. acutus (Hardstem Bulrush) are typical bulrushes found in the sandy shallows of Fish Lake.  S. fluviatilis (River Bulrush) occurs in deeper water of Fish Lake?  S. pungens (Three Square Bulrush) and S. smithii are two uncommon species of Fish Lake.   S. subterminalis(Water Club Rush) is a nearly submerged aquatic found at Beckman Lake.  S. clintonii is an uncommon species of a few wet meadows in the burn compartments south of Fish Lake.

    The large genus Cyperus with nine species can be divided into denizens of dry and wet habitats.  Common species of xeric old fields are C. schweinitzii and C. lupulinus (=filiculmis).  Species occuring in wet sand along the shoreline of Fish Lake are C. aristatus, C. diandrus, andC. engelmanii. C. esculentus andC. strigosus occur in the wet ditch north of Fish Lake. C. rivularis is found on low open ground in North Section. C. odoratus occurs where??

    The enormous genus Carex with ca. 50 species is a difficult one to characterize. One could list common to rare, wet to dry habitats, or floral structure differences.  Here Johnno tries to combine these approaches.

DIFFERENCES IN FLORAL STRUCTURE AND HABITAT PREFERENCE
 

HABITAT MORPHOLOGY	WET SAND BEACH	OLD FIELD	WET SAND MEADOW	ORGANIC MARSH SWAMP	LOWLAND HARDWOODS	UPLAND WOODS	SPHAGNUM TAMARACK SWAMP	SPHAGNUM BOG--POOR FEN
Distinctive	sychnocephala	foenea	sartwellii		pedunculata deweyana	pennsylvanica	leptalea trisperma	chordorrhiza gynocrates
Ovales types	scoparia	bicknellii muhlenbergii	bebbii prairea	diandra vulpinoidea crawfordii			brunnescens disperma interior	canescens
Stricta types		lanuginosa	atherodes bauxbaumii haydenii	stricta vesicaria		debilis intumescens
Pedunculate types	hystericina				gracillima		limosa	paupercula
Lacustris types		meadii		lacustris comosa		lupulina richardsonii	pseudocyperus	rostrata

Not included:  tenera(fields); cryptolepis(marsh/swamp); cephalanthus(bog)

WITH A TINY TERMINAL HEAD
chordorrhiza, crawfordi, leptalea
WITH LARGE SWOLLEN SEED HEAD
intumescens
WITH MACE LIKE SEED HEADS (spike balls)
cryptolepis, hystericina?
DROOPING TYPES
pedunculata, paupercula, limosa, gracillima
UPRIGHT TYPES
pensylvanica, foenea
BRANCHING TYPES (fine: small to large)
trisperma, deweyana
oligosperma, sychnocephala
BALL SEDGES (small to large)
disperma, brunnescens, diandra
scoparia, bebbii, bicknellii, bauxbaumii, prairea, sartwellii, tenera
muhlenbergii, stipata, vulpinoides
BIG SEDGES (male atop female)
pseuro-cyperus, rostrata, lacustris, lupulina
comosa, atherodes, vesicaria, hystericina
STRICTA TYPES (slender: male atop female)
stricta, lanuginosa, lasiocarpa, meadii, haydenii,

SPECIES OF WET DEPRESSIONS
atherodes, bebbii, buxbaumii, crawfordii, haydenii, meadii, sartwellii, scoparia, tenera
SPECIES OF EXPANSIVE SEDGE MEADOWS (rich fens)
cryptolepis, gynocrates, lacustris, lasiocarpa, prairea, rostrata, stricta, vesicaria, vulpinoidea
SPECIES OF SPHAGNUM MATS
canescens, cephalantha, chordorrhiza, lasiocarpa, limosa, oligosperma, paupercula, trisperma
SPECIES OF WET SANDY BEACHES
hystericina, sychnocephala,
SPECIES OF MINEROTROPHIC TAMARARACK, HARDWOOD SWAMPS
brunnescens, comosa, deweyana, diandra, disperma, gracillima, interior, intumescens, leptalea,  pedunculata, pseudocyperus,  stipata,
SPECIES OF UPLAND HARDWOODS
lupulina, pensylvanica, richardsonii, rosea
SPECIES OF UPLAND OLD FIELDS
foenea, lanuginosa, muhlenbergii,
 

SPECIES OF DRY OPEN HABITATS
C. foenea, C. muhlenbergii, C. scoparius, C. bebbii, C. lanuginosa
SPECIES OF UPLAND WOODS
C. pensylvanica
SPECIES OF WOODED SWAMP

SPECIES OF MARSHES AND WETLANDS
C. haydenii, C. bauxbaumii
C. lasiocarpa, C. stricta, C. lacustris, C. oligosperma,