Carex mckittrickensis, the Guadalupe Mountain sedge, is a species of sedge endemic to Guadalupe Mountains National Park in western Texas. It occurs on the sides of steep ravines and also in riparian forests.[1]
Carex mckittrickensis is an herb up to tall, spreading by means of underground rhizomes. Its stems are round in cross-section and covered with reddish-brown leaf sheaths toward the base. Its leaves are thread-like, up to 17cm (07inches) long and less than 1cm (00inches) across. Staminate (male) flowering spikes form at the top of the plant, with pistillate (female) spikes in axils of the leaves.[2] [3]
Carex mckittrickensis is very closely related to the widespread Carex eburnea, but differs in the large size of many of its floral parts.[2] It was described in 1998 by Peter W. Ball of the University of Toronto, and named after McKittrick Canyon in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park.[2]