Note the staminate flowers. Many sedges shoot up these staminate shoots in early spring before much else is blooming. Folks who get out early in the season usually get delighted by these surprise plants. Surprise? They don't recognized them and wonder what's up! What's up? Carex careyana! In this case the combination of wide leaves and a reddish base to the stems eliminate other Arkansas carices.
(Condensed from Hyatt, Philip E. 1998. Castanea 63: 174-179.)
This paper presents a list of 41 Carex taxa from the Buffalo National River, lists 23 taxa as possible additions, and briefly discusses potential undescribed taxa. Indeed, since its publication more taxa have been described in the genus for Arkansas while one potential taxon is eliminated. The paper cites 122 taxa for Arkansas, a number that is now 131. See the original paper for more detail. Taxa are cited here without the author's name for simplicity's sake. See the original if you choke on the lack of details.
Species list (documented taxa from the River)
Carex albicans var. albicans
Uplands, occasional.
Carex albursina
Deep mesic valleys, very locally abundant.
Carex amphibola
Low woods and floodplains, abundant.
Carex austrina
Roadsides, occasional.
Carex blanda
Widespread mesic to dry habitats, common to abundant.
Carex bushii
Sandstone glades, infrequent.
Carex careyana
Deep mesic valleys, very locally abundant.
Carex cephalophora
Woodlands, abundant.
Carex communis
Upper talus zone in deep valleys; very locally common.
Carex crawei
Glades, very locally common.
Carex crinita
Streamsides, infrequent.
Carex digitalis var. digitalis
North facing slopes, common.
Carex eburnea
Glades, seeps, very locally abundant.
Carex granularis
Sunny seeps and springs, common.
Carex gravida
Riverine, infrequent to rare.
Carex grisea
Low woods, occasional to infrequent.
Carex hirsutella
Ruderal, abundant and widespread.
Carex hirtifolia
Upper floodplains in medium stream valleys next to north facing slopes, infrequent and very local.
Carex hitchcockiana
Mesic north slopes, infrequent to rare.
Carex hystericina
Calcareous streambanks, locally common.
Carex jamesii
Mesic floodplains, common. Note: a new species, Carex timida has been recently described and split from Carex jamesii and likely occurs on the Buffalo National River.
Carex laxiflora var. laxiflora
Deep mesic valleys, very locally abundant.
Carex leavenworthii
Ruderal, common.
Carex lurida
Wetlands, common to abundant.
Carex meadii
Glades and prairies, common to abundant.
Carex mesochorea
Riverine floodplains, infrequent.
Carex molesta
Sunny springs, roadside ditches, sunny glades, occasional.
Carex molestiformis
Floodplains, frequent.
Carex muehlenbergii var. enervis
Disturbed woods, probably common. Note revised spelling since the 1998 publication.
Carex muehlenbergii var. muehlenbergii
Disturbed woods, probably common.
Carex nigromarginata
Woodlands, abundant.
Carex oligocarpa
North facing slopes, common.
Carex oxylepis var. pubescens
Deep valleys, locally widespread and common, but rare outside Arkansas.
Carex radiata
Newly reported for Arkansas in 1998.
Carex retroflexa
Upland woods and floodplains, common.
Carex rosea
Woods and floodplains, common.
Carex sparganioides
Restricted to mesic valleys on loose chert near ephemeral streams in deep valleys on north facing slopes, a rather restricted habitat, occurs in small colonies, infrequent to rare.
Carex texensis
Mesic woods, common.
Carex torta
Perennial streambanks, very locally common.
Carex umbellata
Woodlands, abundant. Note that many north central Arkansas collections of this taxon have been re-identified and the newly described Carex reznicekii. Buffalo National River collections have not be revisited for identification in light of the new taxon.
Carex vulpinoidea
Sunny wetlands and ditches, common.
Carex "buffaloensis" or Carex hyattii
I jokingly "named" what might have been an undescribed taxon after myself and later used the name above after the River. This plant has since been considered a "shade" form of Carex normalis so the above names should be ignored in favor of the correct name.
Carex brevior, Carex festucacea, Carex flaccosperma, Carex frankii, Carex laxiculmis var. copulata, Carex laxiculmis var. laxiculmis, Carex gracillima, Carex leptalea, Carex shortiana, Carex suberecta, Carex arkansana, Carex opaca (formerly Carex bicknellii var. opaca, Carex oklahomensis. Additional taxa are addressed in the original.
Discover Life in America, a non-profit organization supports and coordinates the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We envision a similar Arkansas organization who's purpose will be to create and manage an All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory for the Buffalo National River and the adjoining Leatherwood Wilderness on the Sylamore District of the Ozark National Forest.
What is an All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory? Our All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory will seek to inventory the tens of thousands of species of living organisms in Buffalo National River and the adjoining Leatherwood Wilderness.
Links (copied from link page on March 26, 2008).
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