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Carex fimbriata is a tussock-forming species of perennial sedge in the family Cyperaceae. It is native to France, Italy and Switzerland. The plant stands 10–40 cm tall that often spreads by short, rooting stems, bearing stiff, flat leaves about 2–3 mm wide which remain shorter than its flower stalks. Its 5–15 cm inflorescence carries 1–4 erect female spikes topped by 2–3 smaller male spikes, each fruit enclosed in a glossy, three-angled sac fringed with hairs.
Carex fimbriata is confined to the high-alpine zone of the central Alps, where it grows exclusively on shallow, water-saturated soils derived from serpentinite (an ultramafic rock rich in magnesium and iron). These soils, known as rendzinas, are typically thin and sandy, with a moderately acidic pH (around 5.8) and almost complete cation saturation dominated by magnesium over aluminium and calcium. In this specialised habitat, C. fimbriata forms small, discrete stands in rock fissures and on steep, warm slopes—most often on south-east to south-west exposures between 2,600 m and 2,650 m above sea level. While its range was long thought to extend only from the Lautaret Pass (Hautes-Alpes, France) eastwards to the Poschiavo valley (Switzerland), recent surveys near the Col de la Traversette in the Queyras Massif extend its distribution some 50 km further south-west.
Carex abitibiana · Indian Valley sedge · Abruptbeak sedge · Thicket sedge · Small Dusky Sedge · Seoul Sedge · Acid Loving Sedge · Carex acocksii · Slender Tufted-sedge · Carex acutata · Lesser pond sedge · Circumpolar sedge
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Carex fimbriata by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
