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Fraser Sedge

Cymophyllus fraseri




Fraser sedge
 Cymophyllus fraseri closeup
 Cymophyllus fraseri



Pennsylvania Frasier Sedge Habitat
 Pennsylvania Frasier Sedge Habitat



State Heritage Status Rankings

Georgia (S1), Kentucky (S1), Maryland (S1), North Carolina (S3), Pennsylvania (S1), South Carolina (S?), Tennessee (S3), Virginia (S3), West Virginia (S3)



 
Description:

Fraser sedge is a cespitose perennial herb with evergreen basal leaves, lacking sheaths. The leaves are finely veined, all the veins being equal and appearing as longitudinal stripes or striations. The stiff, leathery leaves have margins minutely but firmly toothed (teeth barely visible but are easily felt), and are 2 to 6 dm in length and 2 to 5 cm in width. The flowering stem is 4 to 6 dm in height and arises from the center of the whorl of basal leaves, each surrounded at the base by a tubular leaf that later splits and elongates into a sheathless blade lacking a mid-vein. In April to early June, the milky white flower spike which is 12 to 25 mm in length develops. The upper portion of the spike is a cluster of stamens while the lower portion is a cluster of pistils (young fruits). In June to July, a single achene (a dry seed), surrounded by a perigynium develops. There are 20 to 30 fruit sacs per spike, each being 5 to 6 mm in length and approximately 2.5 mm in width, loosely enveloping a 3-angled achene on a short stalk. Fraser sedge's foliage slightly resembles some of the broad leaved species of Carex or species in the family Liliaceae (Patrick et. al. 1995).

Habitat:

Fraser sedge inhabits rich wooded slopes and cove forests which may be rather acidic and associated with great laurel (Rhododendron maximum), at moderate elevations (Patrick et. al. 1995).

Range:

Fraser sedge is endemic to the central Appalachian Mountains ranging from western Maryland and southern Pennsylvania south through western Virginia and West Virginia to western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, northwestern South Carolina and into northern Georgia (Weakley 2003).





References

  • NatureServe. 2003. Internet resource. NatureServe.

  • Patrick, T.S., Allison, J.R., and Krakow, G.A. 1995. Protected Plants of Georgia: AN INFORMATION MANUAL ON PLANTS DESIGNATED BY THE STATE OF GEORGIA AS ENDANGERED, THREATENED, RARE, OR UNUSUAL. Georgia Natural Heritage Program. Internet Resource. Protected Plants of Georgia.

  • Radford, A.E., Ahles, H.E., Bell, C.R. 1968. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

  • Rhoads A.F., T.A. Block., and A. Anisko. 2000. The Plants of Pennsylvania An Illustrated Manual. The University of Pennsylvania Press. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 1,072 pages.

  • USDA, NRCS. 2002. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5. Internet Resource USDA Plants Database. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

  • Weakley, A.S. 2003. Flora of the Carolinas and Virginia, Working Draft. Internet Resource. Flora of the Carolinas and Virginia.