Carex rupestris, called the curly sedge and rock sedge (names it shares with other members of its genus), is a species of flowering plant in the family Cyperaceae, native to temperate and subarctic North America, Greenland, Iceland, Europe, and Asia.[1]
Carex rupestris is a type of sedge, growing between NaNabbr=offNaNabbr=off in height. It grows in dense, matted tufts.[2] Rhizome branch lengths measure NaNabbr=onNaNabbr=on. Aerial shoots ascend from the rhizome, with dead leaves persisting for several years and giving the stands a typical straw-yellow colour, recognizable at a distance. Leaves are up to 2abbr=offNaNabbr=off wide and channelled, appearing at the base of the stem. The inflorescence is composed of a single spike at the top of the stem.[3] Rhizomes are brown or black, with a scaly appearance. The species fruits in late spring to summer.[4]
Carex rupestris is an arctic-alpine species found at higher altitudes. It favours dry ground, heathland, talus slopes, and rocky outcrops and ledges.[5] Carex rupestris subsp. altimontana is found only in the Altai Republic of Russia.
The following subspecies are currently accepted:[1]
Carex rupestris is considered an endangered species across the Carpathian Mountains due to the effect of climate change.[6] It is extirpated in Bulgaria.[1] In North America,, NatureServe listed C. rupestris as Globally Secure (G5). This status was last reviewed on . In individual provinces and states, it is listed as Critically Imperiled (S1) in South Dakota; Imperiled (S2) in Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec; and, Vulnerable (S3) in Alberta and Newfoundland.