Carex livida is a species of tussock-forming, grasslike plant in the family Cyperaceae. It is also known by the common names livid sedge and pale sedge.
Description This sedge forms small clumps of stems up to 50 to 55 centimeters tall. The stiff, leathery leaves are a pale, waxy blue-gray and have channels on their surfaces. The inflorescence contains separate pistillate and staminate spikes. The plant spreads mostly by sprouting from its rhizome, but it also produces seed.
Distribution and habitat It has a scattered, interrupted circumboreal distribution, occurring throughout much of Eurasia and northern North America.Williams, Tara Y. 1990. Carex livida. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. It also occurs in Panama and South America.Carex livida. Flora of North America. It is extirpated in California.Carex livida. California Native Plant Society Rare Plant Profile.
This plant grows in wet substrates with groundwater at the surface. The soils are often calcareous and rich in nitrogen. It can typically be found in fens and bogs with sphagnum mosses and other sedges.
References
External links The Nature Conservancy USDA Plants Profile
Further reading Gage, E. and D. J. Cooper. Carex livida: A Technical Conservation Assessment. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region. June 21, 2006.