14 



very short, wider than long; spikes closely 

 aggregated into a dense, terminal, oblong-linear 

 head, 1.5-2.5 cm. long, 6-8 mm. wide, the staminate 

 flowers terminal and inconspicuous; scales broadly 

 triangular, shorter than the perigynia, hyaline with 

 the centers brownish and one-three-nerved, acute to 

 short-cuspidate; perigynia plano-convex, oblong- 

 elliptic, 3.5-3.75 mm. long, 1.75-2.25 mm. wide, 

 margined, greenish or brownish-tinged, nerveless 

 ventrally, obscurely nerved dorsally, glossy at 

 maturity, the margin more or less serrulate above, 

 abruptly narrowed into a minutely serrulate beak 

 about 1 mm. long, obliquely cut and only shallowly 

 bidentulate; achenes lenticular, orbicular, 

 substipitate, 2X2 mm. 



3. LOCAL FIELD CHARACTERS: Carex vallicola is 



distinguished by the perigynia that contracts into a 

 beak. The beak of the perigynia is obliquely cleft 

 dorsally and minutely bidentulate. The leaf blades 

 are 0.5-2 mm wide. 



D. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 



1. RANGE: Carex vallicola is found at 6,000 to 8,000 

 feet in South Dakota, southwestern Montana, Oregon, 

 California, and Mexico. 



2. CURRENT SITES: Carex vallicola was found in 1993 on 

 the northwest slope of Sheep Mountain along the 

 avalanche chute. Two previous records were not 

 located. One location was recorded in 1908 at the 

 townsite of Monida (Jones, MTNHP) and in 1968 by Dorn, 

 1.25 miles west of Lakeview on the Red Rock Lakes 

 National Wildlife Refuge. 



E. HABITAT 



1. ASSOCIATED VEGETATION: Carex vallicola was found in an 

 opening associated with an avalanche chute with 

 the following grasses and forbs: 



Artemisia ludoviciana (western mugwort) 

 Bromus ciliatus (fringed brome) 

 Epilobium latifolium (red willow-herb) 

 Eriqeron qlabellus (smooth daisy) 

 Fraqaria virqiniana (wild strawberry) 

 Geum macrophyllum (large-leaved avens) 

 Heracleum lanatum (cow parsnip) 

 Melica bulbosa (oniongrass) 



Penstemon whippleanus (Whipple's penstemon) 

 Poa qlaucifolia (white poa) 

 Trisetum spicatum (spike trisetum) 

 Valeriana dioica (northern valerian) 



