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Carex vallicola 

 I. SPECIES INFORMATION 



A. CLASSIFICATION 



1. SCIENTIFIC NAME: Carex vallicola 



2. COMMON NAME: Valley sedge 



3. FAMILY: Cyperaceace 



4. GENUS: According to Hermann (197 0) there are more 

 than 600 species of Carex known to exist in North 

 America, and the differences among them being often 

 small though definite. The species of Carex are 

 comparable to the grasses in forage value. 



5. SPECIES: Carex vallicola has a forage value from 

 fair to excellent, and in the Great Basin area 

 particularly it is considered an important plant on 

 the range. It is found on dry, open slopes and in 

 clearings, chiefly at 6,000 to 8,000 feet. 



B. PRESENT LEGAL OR OTHER FORMAL STATUS 



1. BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT: Further survey is 



warranted before proposing any changes to BLM status 

 or ruling it out. 



2. STATE: Carex vallicola is defined as being 

 imperiled because of rarity (6 to 2 

 occurrences) , or because of other factors 

 demonstrably making it very vulnerable to 

 extinction throughout its range (S2 = state 

 ranking) . No changes to MTHP rank are recommended 

 based on this study. 



C. DESCRIPTION 



1. GENERAL NONTECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: Carex vallicola 

 can be readily distinguished in the field by the 

 dorsal bulging of the mature perigynium, the 

 distention being so pronounced that the resultant 

 stretching of the perigynium walls displaces the 

 thickened margins so that they run down the ventral 

 surface of the perigynium. 



2. TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: Carex vallicola is caespitose 

 from short-prolonged, fibrillose rootstocks; culms 

 slender, 2-6 dm. high, roughened on the angles below 

 the head; leaves about 3 to a culm, 1-1.5 mm. wide, 

 thin, the sheaths light, thin ventrally, the ligule 



