Participant Info

Species

Carex bella [Carex uncompahgre] [Carex atrata var. discolor]

Family

Cyperaceae

CommonName

showy sedge, Southwestern showy sedge, beautiful sedge

Presence

yes

Status

native

EarliestDate

1873

LatestDate

2023

Ecosystem

montane, subalpine, tundra

Geobotanical

SSawatch, Garitas, SSanjuans, Culebras, NCristos

Counties

Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Hinsdale, Mineral, Rio Grande, Saguache, Archuleta

Passes

Elwood, La Manga, North, Wolf Creek

WildlifePreserves

Other Localities

PhotoRecords

Comments

NEED IN SITU PHOTOS. Showy sedge is one of the most collected sedges from the Watershed, with records from all mountain ranges, east and west. Its habitat tends to be rather open but mesic ground in montane and subalpine woods and rocky alpine seeps. In the USA, however, the range of Carex bella is limited to Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico, with isolated locations in northeastern Nevada and the Black Hills of South Dakota. The species follows the Rio Grande drainage through to but not into Texas.

Annotation