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Exotic non-Grass Graminoids of Potential Concern Dominic Maze City of Portland Environmental Services 1/10/18 Pull Together Grassy Things, Maybe Bad? Dominic Maze City of Portland Environmental Services 1/10/18 Pull Together Sedge and Rush Exotics

• So what is a “Graminoid”? • (grasses) • (rushes and allies) • (sedges and allies)

Environmental Services Sedges and Rushes 3 Sedge and Rush Exotics

• So what is a “Graminoid”? • Poaceae (grasses) • Juncaceae (rushes and allies) • Cyperaceae (sedges and allies) • Not all closely related • Functionally often similar • Can look quite similar • Quite different structures • “Sedges have edges…” • But often look pretty different • Esp. in fruit

Pics: A. Zarkihk

Environmental Services Sedges and Rushes 4 Sedge and Rush Exotics

• So what is a “Graminoid”? • Poaceae (grasses) • Juncaceae (rushes and allies) • Cyperaceae (sedges and allies) • Not all closely related • Functionally often similar • Can look quite similar • Quite different structures • “Sedges have edges…” • But often look pretty different • Esp. in fruit

Environmental Services Sedges and Rushes 5 Sedge and Rush Exotics

• So what is a “Graminoid”? • Poaceae (grasses) • Juncaceae (rushes and allies) • Cyperaceae (sedges and allies) • Not all closely related • Functionally often similar • Can look quite similar • Quite different structures • “Sedges have edges…” • But often look pretty different • Esp. in fruit

Environmental Services Sedges and Rushes 6 Importance

• Why do we care about sedges and rushes? • Microhabitat specialists • Soil stabilizers • Gas exchange in saturated soils • Habitat and forage • Water quality

Environmental Services Sedges and Rushes 7 Pics: Barbara Wilson, Bruce Newhouse, Pat McDowell Natives and Exotics

GRASSES • “Sedges” E 179 N 216 • Big family, big (for us) "SEDGES"

• Cyperus, Eleocharis, Scirpus, E 28 N 183 45% etc. 55% 13% • “Rushes” • No slouch (Luzula) RUSHES

E 18 N 56 87%

24%

76%

Environmental Services Sedges and Rushes 8 Natives and Exotics

GRASSES • “Sedges” E 179 N 216 • Big family, big genus (for us) "SEDGES"

• Cyperus, Eleocharis, Scirpus, E 28 N 183 45% etc. 55% 13% • “Rushes” • No slouch (Luzula) RUSHES

Why this discrepancy? E 18 N 56 87% • Are we early in “curve”? 24%

76%

Environmental Services Sedges and Rushes 9 Sedge and Rush Exotics

• Does it really matter? • Are all these species “bad”? • “Restoration” success is subjective • and it’s contextual (or should be)

Environmental Services Sedges and Rushes 10 Sedge and Rush Exotics

• Does it really matter? • Are all these species “bad”? • “Restoration” success is subjective • and it’s contextual (or should be) • Are we being honest when we use the feel-good jargon like “native habitat”?

Environmental Services Sedges and Rushes 11 Juncus

• group • Indicative of a persistent issue in restoration • Three subspecies: • ssp. effusus • ssp. solutus • ssp. pacificus

Environmental Services Sedges and Rushes 12 Juncus

• Juncus effusus group • Indicative of a persistent issue in restoration • Three subspecies: • ssp. effusus • ssp. solutus • ssp. pacificus

Environmental Services Sedges and Rushes 13 Juncus

• Juncus effusus group • Indicative of a persistent issue in restoration • Three subspecies: • ssp. effusus • ssp. solutus • ssp. pacificus 3 sheath characters • Length? • Symmetric/tapered? • Sheath margin thickened?

Environmental Services Sedges and Rushes 14 Juncus

• Juncus effusus group • Weeds? • Labile C turnover? • Who cares? lumps ‘em all together. “Native” cover through the roof!

Environmental Services Sedges and Rushes 15 Juncus

• Juncus usitatus • look alike • Blunt tepals as opposed to J. patens, J. effusus • Chambered pith • Rampant in N CA • Nursery trade providing restoration materials

Environmental Services Sedges and Rushes 16 Juncus

• • Probably a more common than folks know • Dark, striped tepals • Could be confused with J. tenuis (very common and in the trade) • Also looks like J. anthelatus (another weedy exotic Juncus confused with J. tenuis)

Environmental Services Sedges and Rushes 17 Carex

• Carex divulsa • Grown and sold as C. tumulicola in the West • Planted in a variety of contexts, bioswales to mesic/upl restoration • “n10k/yr” in the region • It IS escaping from swales and plantings = urban impacts

Environmental Services Sedges and Rushes 18 Environmental Services Sedges and Rushes 19 Carex

• Carex tumulicola vs. C. divulsa

Environmental Services Sedges and Rushes 20 Carex

• Carex pendula • Fairly widespread • In the “trade”

Environmental Services Sedges and Rushes 21 Carex

• Carex pendula • Unfortunately looks like some native species… • C. obnupta • C. aquatilis var. dives • C. ampifolia • Scirpus microcarpus

Environmental Services Sedges and Rushes 22 Carex

• Carex pendula • Unfortunately looks like some native species… • C. obnupta • C. aquatilis var. dives • C. ampifolia • Scirpus microcarpus • -crosswalled-

Environmental Services Sedges and Rushes 23 Carex

• Carex pendula? • Unfortunately looks like some native species… • C. obnupta • C. aquatilis var. dives • C. ampifolia • Scirpus microcarpus • -crosswalled-

Environmental Services Sedges and Rushes 24 Carex

• Carex pendula? • Carex agastachys • At least some of our material is this… • Does it matter? • Volgens mij staat Carex agastachys, de dubbelganger van hangende zegge ook in Alkmaar! _Spike Gongrijp

Environmental Services Sedges and Rushes 25 Scirpus

• Scirpus cyperinus • Wetland edges • Same habitat as S. microcarpus? Hybrids? • Eastern species

Environmental Services Sedges and Rushes 26 Scirpus

• Scirpus georgianus • Collected several times

Environmental Services Sedges and Rushes 27 Cyperus?

• Lots of confusion and some notable species • C. eragrostis • C. esculentus • Not likely as Cyperus are not really in the nursery trade. (Like Eleocharis; why not?) • Much more likely as soil contaminant

Environmental Services Sedges and Rushes 28 Dominic Maze [email protected]

• Questions? • Buy this book:

Environmental Services Sedges and Rushes 29