- Scientific name: Carex hitchcockiana Dewey
- Species of Greatest Conservation Need (MA State Wildlife Action Plan)
- Special Concern (MA Endangered Species Act)
Description
Holmgren, Noel H. 1998. The Illustrated Companion to Gleason and Cronquist’s Manual. New York Botanical Garden.
Hitchcock’s sedge (Carex hitchcockiana), a member of the sedge family (Cyperaceae), is a perennial, herbaceous, grass-like plant of rich moist woodlands. It was named in honor of botanist Edward Hitchcock (1793-1864). It may occur singly or in large stands of slender stems. The plant is 20-70 cm (8-28 inches) tall. It is often found in association with other rich woodland herbs under a forest canopy.
To positively identify Hitchcock’s sedge and other members of the genus Carex, a technical manual should be consulted. Each flower is unisexual and is closely subtended by small, flat scales that largely conceal the flowers. The staminate (i.e., pollen-bearing) flowers are subtended by a single scale. The pistillate (i.e., ovule-bearing) flowers are subtended by two scales, an outer flat scale (“pistillate scale”) and an inner, sac-like scale, called a “perigynium,” that encloses the flower, and later, the achene (fruit).
Hitchcock’s sedge belongs to a group of Carex (section Griseae) that all have impressed (sunken) perigynia veins. In this species, the perigynium is broadest well above the middle (obovate); it tapers gradually toward the base and more abruptly toward the tip to a “beak” (see illustration). The tiny achene (fruit) inside each perigynium has a sharply bent beak. Each flowering culm has a single, terminal, staminate spike above two to four pistillate spikes. The lowermost bract (leaf-like structure below the spikes) is rough and quite long, extending well beyond the tops of the spikes. Its leaves, which usually extend above the stem, can be up to 6.5 mm (0.25 in) wide. The culm bases are brownish in color. A distinctive feature of Hitchcock’s sedge is its scabrous to finely pubescent sheath opposite the leaf attachment.
Hitchcock’s sedge is similar in growth habit to another rare sedge of rich woods, the rich woods sedge (Carex oligocarpa, Endangered), and to the gray sedge (Carex grisea). However, the following characters may be used to distinguish Hitchcock’s sedge from them: the bracts and bract sheaths of Hitchcock’s sedge are scabrous (smooth in rich woods and gray sedges); and the culm bases are brownish in Hitchcock’s sedge versus purplish-red in the rich woods and gray sedges.
Ligule and pubescent sheath. Photograph by Katy Chayka, MinnesotaWildflowers.info
Perigynia, image by Peter Grima.
Life cycle and behavior
Hitchcock’s sedge is a perennial species that is wind-pollinated. It starts blooming in May and identifiable perigynia are present to the end of August. It has a single terminal staminate spike with 2-4 all-pistillate spikes. It does produce rhizomes and may spread through rhizomes as well as through seed. Most seed falls near the parent plants. It is not known how the seed spreads to new locations.
Population status
Hitchcock’s sedge is listed under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act as a species of Special Concern. All listed species are protected from killing, collecting, possessing, or sale and from activities that would destroy habitat and thus directly or indirectly cause mortality or disrupt critical behaviors. Hitchcock’s sedge is currently known (discovered and verified since 1999) from 19 occurrences in Berkshire, Franklin and Hampshire Counties, with nine additional records of historic populations. All current populations appear to be vigorous with most plants bearing fruit in season.
Distribution and abundance
The documented range of Hitchcock’s sedge extends from southern Quebec and Minnesota in the north to Oklahoma and North Carolina in the south. It is considered vulnerable or rare in the eastern and southern edge of its range. In New England, Hitchcock’s sedge is listed as imperiled in Connecticut, critically imperiled in New Hampshire, and vulnerable in Vermont and Massachusetts. It has not been documented in Maine or Rhode Island.
Distribution in Massachusetts
2000-2025
Based on records in the Natural Heritage Database
Habitat
Hitchcock’s sedge occurs in rich mesic woods, often in areas overlying calcareous bedrock. Several Massachusetts populations are situated on unstable slopes of loose rock. Herbaceous species associated with the Massachusetts populations include hog peanut (Amphicarpaea bracteata), large-leafed aster (Eurybia macrophylla), doll’s-eyes (Actaea pachypoda), red baneberry (Actaea rubra), ginseng (Panax quinquefolius, special concern), glade fern (Homalosorus pycnocarpos, watch list), herb Robert (Geranium robertianum), marginal shield fern (Dryopteris marginalis), blue cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides), Goldie’s fern (Dryopteris goldieana, watch list), and large-flowered bellwort (Uvularia grandifolia, watch-list). Hitchcock’s sedge often grows in areas with little or no shrub layer, but it has sometimes been reported in association with woody understory species such as leatherwood (Dirca palustris), poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans), dogwoods (Cornus spp.) and viburnums (Viburnum spp.). Tree species associated with Hitchcock’s sedge include sugar maple (Acer saccharum), hickory (Carya spp.), red oak (Quercus rubra), basswood (Tilia americana), American beech (Fagus grandifolia), white ash (Fraxinus americana), birch (Betula sp.), eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), and hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana).
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Plant in habitat, image by Peter Grima.
Threats
Threats to Hitchcock’s sedge include development within its habitat including trail systems (trampling), invasive plant species taking over the habitat, and animal browse. Use of rich mesic forests for maple sugaring and the creation of roads to support that operation can crush plants and bring in invasive species. Some forestry operations may also threaten this species.
Conservation
Survey and monitoring
There are several slightly older populations of Hitchcock’s sedge that have no record of being surveyed for in recent times. These should be resurveyed if the habitat still exists in those areas. This species is best surveyed in mid to late summer when the ripe perigynia are present and the plants are easily identified to species. Separate clumps of plants should be considered genets, or individual plants.
Management
Little is known about the specific requirements of Hitchcock’s sedge, but observations of existing populations suggest that it may be tolerant of some disturbance. Nevertheless, drastic alteration of soils, hydrology or the forest structure, as well as fragmentation of its woodland habitat, may have negative impacts on a population. Elimination of invasive, non-native plant species in the vicinity may also be important measures to protect populations of Hitchcock’s sedge. All active management of rare plant populations (including invasive species removal) is subject to review under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act and should be planned in close consultation with the MassWildlife’s Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program.
Research needs
Needs for Hitchcock’s sedge include research into the ways that the seeds may move from one location to new locations. Other research needs include how much disturbance is preferred by this species. Research is needed to answer the question as to whether this plant can be grown in a nursery or garden setting for purposes of reintroductions.
References
Arsenault, Matt, Glen H. Mittelhauser, Don Cameron, Alison C. Dibble, Arthur Haines, Sally C. Rooney, and Jill E. Weber. 2013. Sedges of Maine, A Field Guild to Cyperaceae. University of Maine Press, Orono, Maine.
Gleason, Henry A., and Arthur Cronquist. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada, Second Edition. Bronx, NY: The New York Botanical Garden, 1991.
Haines, A. 2011. Flora Novae Angliae – a Manual for the Identification of Native and Naturalized Higher Vascular Plants of New England. New England Wildflower Society, Yale Univ. Press, New Haven, CT.
Native Plant Trust. 2014. NORM Phenology Information.
NatureServe. 2025. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer [web application]. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available https://explorer.natureserve.org/. Accessed: 3/4/2025.
POWO (2025). "Plants of the World Online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet; https://powo.science.kew.org/ Retrieved 06 January 2025."
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| Date published: | March 26, 2025 |
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