U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service February 2019 Conserving South Carolina’s At-Risk Species: www.fws.gov/charleston www.fws.gov/southeast/endangered-species-act/at-risk-species Species facing threats to their survival

Ravine sedge (aka—Impressed- on the same stem; each spike with 5 - 11 habitat fragmentation, and certain forest nerve sedge) fruits. The fruit body is about ⅛ inch long management practices. (Carex impressinervia) with a short, bent stalk and sharply bent tip, tightly enclosed in a 3-sided, heavily Management/Protection Needs veined sac. Few-fruited sedge (Carex oli- Protect hardwood slope forests and flood- gocarpa) is a similar species that also forms plain forests from clearing, logging, and dense clumps in rich forests but does not stream impoundment as the species tends have old leaf bases persisting at the base of to grow in transition zones between the the plant. Also, its leaf sheaths are purple floodplain and slope, making it particular- rather than light green. Ravine sedge, like ly vulnerable to changes in water levels. most sedges, are wind-pollinated. Little is Management primarily involves avoiding known about seed dispersal or other as- removal of the tree canopy and preventing pects of reproduction for this species. any activity that would change the hydrol- ogy of the ravines. Exotic species that Range invade forested area may need to be con- Ravine sedge is currently known from trolled on some sites. approximately 25 disjunct sites in Ala- bama, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and possibly Georgia. In South Carolina, the plant is known only from a small tributary to Cuffeytown Creek in Greenwood County where it occurs with Dwarf palmetto (Sabal minor) and Ogle- thorpe oak (Quercus oglethorpensis). Ravine sedge/Keith Bradley Habitat Description Ravine sedge occurs in vegetatively di- The ravine sedge is a perennial, grass-like verse moist to wet deciduous forests. It is Ravine sedge/Bruce Sorrie herb forming dense clumps connected by usually found on gentle slopes above and underground stems or rhizomes. Flower- in the floodplains of small streams, usually References ing stems are 10 - 34 inches tall and yel- in areas with mafic (rich in magnesium Georgia Department of Natural Resources low-brown. Leaf sheaths are hairless and and iron) or slate bedrock. - Rare Plant Species Profiles: http:// greenish-white or light tan. Leaf blades georgiawildlife.com/speciesinfo/plants are about ⅛ inch wide and smooth, ex- Status cept for a hairy mid-vein; the lower part NatureServe’s Rounded Global Status is NatureServe. 2017. NatureServe Explor- of the leaf is a hairless, pale green or tan G2 - Imperiled. The U.S. Fish and Wild- er: An online encyclopedia of life [web sheath encircling the base of the stem. life Service was petitioned to list the spe- application]. Version 7.1. NatureServe, Old, fibrous leaf bases persist at the base cies in April 2010 and in September 2011 Arlington, Virginia. Available http:// of the plant. The topmost flower spike is issued a 90-day finding indicating listing explorer.natureserve.org. up to 1½ inches long, solitary at the top of may be warranted. the flowering stem, and contains male Contact flowers only. Lateral flower spikes are up Threats U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to 1¾ inches long, with both female and With fewer than 10 occurrences ranked as South Carolina Field Office male flowers, 2 - 4 spikes per stem, and having excellent or good viability, the spe- 843/727-4707 are held below the male-flowered spike cies is threatened by land-use conversion, [email protected]