DESCRIPTION 



1. GENERAL NONTECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: Carex 

 multicostata is a tufted perennial sedge growing 

 from short woody rootstocks. The flowers, which 

 are reduced to ovaries and surrounding bracts 

 and/or anthers subtended by scales, arise on 

 angular stems above the flat green leaves and are 

 tightly aggregated into light brown heads. The 

 stems are ribbed. 



2. TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: Densely caespitose from 

 short woody rootstocks; stout culms 3-9 dm, 

 striate, surpassing the leaves; leaves flat, 2.5-6 

 mm wide, 3 or 4 per culm; spikes gynaecandrous, 

 aggregated into oblong heads, 1.5-4 cm long and 14- 

 20 mm thick; scales ovate, obtuse to acute or 

 slightly cuspidate, light reddish-brown with pale 

 three-nerved center and broad hyaline margins; 

 perigynia planoconvex, ovate, 3.5-5.5 mm long and 

 2-2.5 mm wide, subcoriaceous, green to straw- 

 colored, wing-margined, serrulate to below the 

 middle, conspicuously nerved dorsally, with a flat 

 bidentate beak which is often winged and serrulate 

 to the tip; achenes lenticular, 1.75-2.5 by 1.5 mm, 

 yellowish or light-brown, substipitate (adapted 

 from Hermann 1970) . 



GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 



1. RANGE: Carex multicostata occurs from Montana to 

 Washington and south to California and Nevada. 



2 . CURRENT SITES (MONTANA) : Carex multicostata is 

 recently (1989) documented from one site in 

 Montana. The species was collected on the Gallatin 

 National Forest during the sensitive plant 

 inventory of the Mill Creek Timber Sale area. It 

 was found by a spring in the headwaters area of 

 Counts Creek, along the road traversing the SW 1/4 

 of Section 14 of T6S, R9E. Additional location 

 data are provided in the element occurrence print- 

 out, p. 28, and the map, p. 29. 



3. HISTORICAL SITES (MONTANA): Carex multicostata is 

 known from only four other sites in Montana. Two 

 collections have been made in Beaverhead County 

 (1959) , and two collections are from Gallatin 

 County (1921 and 1977). 



HABITAT: Hermann (1970) lists the elevational range of 

 Carex multicostata as 330 m (1000 ft.) to 3700 m (11000 

 ft.)« In Montana, the species is known from above 

 timberline in the Bridger Range and from a large 



