Great Smoky Mountain sedge facts for kids

The Great Smoky Mountain sedge, known scientifically as Carex fumosimontana, is a special type of grass-like plant called a sedge. It grows only in the Great Smoky Mountains in the southeastern United States. When a plant or animal lives only in one specific place, it is called endemic. A scientist named Dwayne Estes first officially described this plant in 2013. He wrote about it in a science journal called Brittonia.

Meet the Great Smoky Mountain Sedge

This sedge is part of a group of similar plants called the Carex crinita complex. Think of it like a family of plants that share many features. This group belongs to an even larger plant family, the Carex sect. Phacocystis.

What Makes It Special?

Plants in this group often have thick, hanging flower spikes. Their leaves are usually wider than 2 millimeters. They also have special coverings on their stems called sheaths, which look a bit like a ladder.

The Great Smoky Mountain sedge is quite similar to another plant, Carex gynandra. However, you can tell Carex fumosimontana apart by a few key things:

• Its small, protective scales around the seeds are dark reddish-brown.
• The sheaths (leaf bases) are also reddish.
• Its seed cases, called perigynia, are shaped like an ellipse (like a stretched circle), not oval.
• These seed cases feel smooth or have tiny bumps.

Where Does It Live?

Carex fumosimontana grows in the Great Smoky Mountains. You can find it in North Carolina and Tennessee. It likes open areas within the spruce-fir forests. It often grows in wet, grassy meadows called sedge meadows. It also likes damp spots near rock outcrops where water seeps out of the ground.

How It Got Its Name

The name Carex fumosimontana comes from Latin words. "Fumosi" means "smoky," and "montana" means "mountain." This name refers to the type locality where the first plant specimen was found. This place was, of course, the Great Smoky Mountains!