Carex archeri, known as Archer's sedge,[1] is a species of sedge in the genus Carex, endemic to south-eastern Australia.
Carex archeri grows up to 25cm (10inches) high, with leaves less than 0.5mm wide.[2] Its inflorescence comprises a single spike subtended by a bract that is longer than the inflorescence. The spike contains few flowers, with the female flowers towards the base of the spike, and a very short portion towards the tip containing male flowers.[2] The glumes of the female flowers are 2.5mm4mm long, and the utricles that form in the female flowers are 3mm5mm long, with a 1.3- notched beak.[2]
Specimens of C. archeri may be mistaken for stunted examples of either of two species classified in the same section, C. raleighii and C. hebes.[2]
Carex archeri grows in bogs, alpine heath and tussock grassland in upland areas of Tasmania and the Australian Alps of Victoria and New South Wales.[2] [3] Within New South Wales, it is limited to parts of Kosciuszko National Park around Club Lake and the upper reaches of the Thredbo River.[3]
Carex archeri is not listed on the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999,[4] but it is subject to protection by the state of New South Wales as an endangered species,[3] and as a vulnerable species in Victoria.[1]
Carex archeri was first described by Francis Boott in 1858,[1] and named in honour of William Archer.[5] Archer had collected the type material in the western mountains of Tasmania.[6]