Carex cephalophora (Oval-headed sedge)

Carex cephalophora Muhl. ex Willd.

Oval-headed sedge, oval-leaf sedge

Oval-headed sedge is native to eastern North America.

Plants: Tufts have culms that typically remain erect, and are up to 2′ (60 cm) tall.

Leaves: Smooth leaves are basal and alternate, and up to 1/16–⅛″ (2.5–5 mm) wide.

Flowers: Inflorescences appear on long, bare stems, topped by what appears to be a single oval or conical spike that is ⅛–¾ ⨉ ⅛–⅜″ (6–20 ⨉ 5–10 mm). It is actually three to eight spikes squished together, tightly enough so no space is visible between them. The uppermost spike in the cluster has staminate (male) flowers at the tip and pistillate (female) flowers below. Perigynia are hairless, 1/16–⅛ ⨉ 1/32–1/16″ (2.5–3 ⨉ 1.4–2 mm) in size, with a beak. Carpellate scales are half the size of the perigynia.

Fruits: Achenes are 1/32″ (1 mm) in size. Each perigynium develops 4 to 20 achenes.

Habitats: Dry deciduous woods, rocky woodlands, forest edges, and ledges.

Online References:

Minnesota Wildflowers

Go Botany

References:

Arsenault, Matt; Mittelhauser, Glen H.; Cameron, Don; Dibble, Alison C.; Haines, Arthur; Rooney, Sally C.; and Weber, Jill E., Sedges of Maine: A Field Guide to Cyperaceae, University of Maine Press, 2013, p. 402

Jenkins, Jerry, Sedges of the Northern Forest: A Photographic Guide (The Northern Forest Atlas Guides), Comstock Publishing Associates, 2019, p. 65

6/18/2012 · Ogunquit, Maine · ≈ 3 × 2″ (7.7 × 5.5 cm)

6/18/2012 · Ogunquit, Maine · ≈ 1¼ × 1″ (3.6 × 2.9 cm)

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin)
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Liliopsida	Monocots (plants with a single seed leaf); includes the lily family
Subclass	Commelinidae	Dayflowers and spiderworts, and several others
Order	Cyperales	Flowering plants including grasses
Family	Cyperaceae	Sedge family
Genus	Carex	The “true” sedges
Species	cephalophora	From the Greek kephale, “head,” and the suffix -phorus, meaning “to carry or bear”

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Carex cephalophora description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.