Carex (mertensii)

jtrindle USDA NRCS - Corvallis Plant Materials Center 3415 NE Granger Ave Corvallis, Oregon 58413 (541)757-4812 http://plant-materials.nrcs.usda.gov/orpmc

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Family Scientific Name:	Cyperaceae
Family Common Name:	Sedge
Scientific Name:	Carex mertensii Prescott ex Bong.
Common Name:	Merten's sedge
Species Code:	CAME6
Ecotype:	Mount Rainier National Park, 4,200 to 4,400 ft elev.
General Distribution:	Pacific Northwest and northern California, north to Alaska, Idaho and Montana. In our collection, plants were found in open areas growing with Lupinus latifolius and other forbs along roadsides.
Propagation Goal:	seeds
Propagation Method:	seed
ProductType:	Propagules (seeds, cuttings, poles, etc.)
Stock Type:	seed
Time To Grow:	2 Years
Target Specifications:	Clean seed with no noxious weeds; seed weights averaged 1,565,500 seed / lb.
Propagule Collection:	Seeds hand-stripped from individual plants into cloth or paper sacks; or seed heads clipped with hand pruners where plants were more abundant
Propagule Processing:	Dried seed heads very chaffy; if whole heads are collected seed can be threshed using a geared-down hammermill with 1/16th screen; run through an oat dehuller one or more times; then through an office clipper with #8 top screen, 1/20" round bottom screen, medium air flow. Some workers at the PMC found that chaff was irritating to skin and eyes: gloves, goggles, and dust masks were needed especially to clean larger quantities of seed.
Pre-Planting Treatments:	none - our lots showed 53 to 63% germination.
Growing Area Preparation/ Annual Practices for Perennial Crops:	Fine, weed-free seed bed. Due to lack of available herbicides to suppress weedy grasses, our best results were obtained by carbon-banding. In this method, seed was sown in spring with a Hege precision seeder, at 30 " rows, 100 seeds / ft row; overspraying the seed with an activated charcoal slurry (carbon-banding) followed by a field application of Karmex broad spectrum pre-emergent herbicide at 2.2 lbs ai/ acre (equipment for applying the carbon slurry was provided on loan from the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in Corvallis). The system consists of a tank with mechanical agitator to keep the charcoal in solution, and an impeller pump connected to tubing with large-diameter nozzles directed over the seeding row to deposit the slurry in a 1/8 to 1/4 inch band directly over the seeded row. The system is front-mounted on the tractor while seeding equipment is pulled behind .
Establishment Phase:	Irrigation applied in May through July of first year. Weed control was provided by hand-hoeing, shallow rototilling between rows, and spot applications of Roundup herbicide. Seedling emergence was somewhat slow and spotty; initial vigor is only fair.
Length of Establishment Phase:	3 months
Active Growth Phase:	Continued weed control as needed - in subsequent years, early spring weed control was important t o reduce competition from weedy grasses and broadleaves. Low rates of ammonium nitrate (25 lbs N / ac) was applied in late winter; and three applications of Tilt fungicide for rust control were made from late March to early May, before flowering and seed set.
Length of Active Growth Phase:	April to June; seeds ready to harvest in June of 2nd year.
Hardening Phase:	Fields become summer-dormant after harvest
Length of Hardening Phase:	na
Harvesting, Storage and Shipping:	Seed heads were hand-clipped into sacks or pails and taken to a warm, dry poly greenhouse to be spread out on tarps to dry. Mechanical harvesting would be feasible with larger plots; as seed ripened fairly uniformly at Corvallis. Unlike seed threshing and cleaning operations; none of the staff noticed any irritating effects from handling and clipping the plants at harvest time.
Length of Storage:	not determined; our seeds stored well for a few years in cool ((40F) dry conditions at Corvallis.
Other Comments:	This is another species which is fairly easily collected in small to moderate amounts from native stands. Field seed increase is feasible if larger amounts of seed are needed; plot survival at Corvallis was good.
References:	Corvallis Plant Materials Center Technical Report: Plants for Woodland and Rangeland Reclamation and Erosion Control 1980 - 1997 (includes Annual Reports to Mount Rainier National Park from 1990 - 1996 Link, Ellen, ed. 1993 Native Plant Propagation Techniques for National Parks Interim Guide; Compiled by Rose Lake Plant Materials Center 7472 Stoll Road East Lansing, MI 48823 USDA, NRCS. 2001. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.1 (http://plants.usda.gov). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Citation:

Flessner, Theresa R; Trindle, Joan D.C.. 2003. Propagation protocol for production of Propagules (seeds, cuttings, poles, etc.) Carex mertensii Prescott ex Bong. seeds seed; USDA NRCS - Corvallis Plant Materials Center Corvallis, Oregon. In: Native Plant Network. URL: https://NativePlantNetwork.org (accessed 2025/04/24). US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Center for Reforestation, Nurseries, and Genetic Resources.