Where there's a sedge, there's often confusion -- Anon.
As mentioned in the Project summary, Carex is the largest genus in California where around 200 species occur, and one of the largest genera in the world with over 2,000 species. Due to the minor morphological differences between the species, it is often difficult to identify to species by sight. Source: CA Biologist's Handbook.
The inconclusiveness of identification by visual gestalt without examining inflorescence, spike, flower, and vegetative characters, which often involves dissection and micro-measurements, is especially significant and pertinent to observations of locally uncommon and/or look-alike sedges, typically members of the same subgroup with similar visual gestalts: for example C. bolanderi and C. leptpoda; C. subbracteata, C. harfordii, and C. pachystachys; C. nudata and S. senta, etc.).
C. subbracteata and C. pachystachys and other Broomsedges* illustrate these issues:
Occasionally, iNat guide photos are atypical and consequently misleading -- [https://www.inaturalist.org/photos/33610594] -- for visual gestalt, as in the case of the common central coast and California Floristic Province endemic Carex harfordii; compare with records in this project. Accurate visual search image(s) is important, and needs to be combined with close examination of both inflorescence and vegetative characters.
Indeed many iNat Carex records, including some of our own, tell one not much beyond this is a sedge growing in some or another area. Reports usually lack comments or photos documenting diagnostic characters, size of population, ecology. Taking a photo and relying on Computer Vision for identification does not work for most graminoids. When one suggests an identification, iNat prompts "Tell us why . . ." ; few answer. This prompt should also appear when making the original posting: Computer Vision, Uncertain, Recognized from previous determination, Keyed in a relevant flora, etc.
A guide with macro-photos is Field Guide to the Sedges of the Pacific Northwest and California, 2nd ed., by Barbara L. Wilson, Richard E. Brainerd, Danna Lytjen, Bruce Newhouse, and Nick Otting of the Carex Working Group.
Peter F. Zika, Andrew L. Hipp & Joy Mastrogiuseppe 2015, Carex, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, Revision 3, accessed on November 25, 2023.
Peter W. Ball & A. A. Reznicek, Carex, in Flora of North America, www.eFloras.org, accessed on November 25, 2023.
Notes
*Broomsedges, Section Ovales; 2 styles, spikes gynecandrous (pistillate above), perigynium winged, stems hollow.
