Participant Info

Species

Carex nardina [Carex gynocrates] [Carex chordorrhiza subsp. gynocrates] [Carex dioica subsp. gynocrates] etc.

Family

Cyperaceae

CommonName

spikenard sedge, northern bog sedge

Presence

yes

Status

native

EarliestDate

1996

LatestDate

2008

Ecosystem

subalpine, tundra

Geobotanical

SSawatch, SSanjuans, NCristos

Counties

Conejos, Rio Grande, Saguache

Passes

Elwood

WildlifePreserves

Other Localities

PhotoRecords

Comments

NEED IN SITU PHOTOS. Spikenard sedge has been vouchered only a few times from the Watershed, at high elevations. Twice determined as Carex gynocrates, it has been recorded from Upper Sand Creek, northeast of the Great Sand Dunes NPP (Saguache Co, 2008), and one mile NNE of Elwood Pass (Rio Grande Co, 1996). And three times determined as Carex nardina, it has been recorded from east of Antero Peak (Saguache Co, 1998), between Fish Lake and Blue Lake (Conejos Co, 2001), and southwest of Fish Lake (Conejos Co, 2001). Carex nardina has scattered locations in the Rockies Mountains and Great Lakes region, with uncommon occurrences in upper New England. Determined as Carex gynocrates, this taxon has been recorded from the Sangre de Cristos range of New Mexico, but not farther down stream. Note that POWO (2025) treats "Carex gynocrates" as a synonym of Carex nardina, while other authorites such as FNA and BONAP keep the two taxa as separate species.

Annotation