Foothill sedge (Carex tumulicola) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 9
Special Significance of the Species
A Carex sold commercially as an ornamental by some garden nurseries in the U.S., primarily in California, was originally thought to be the native west coast Carex tumulicola. It is now known that the plants sold by nurseries as an ornamental and as a cover plant in ecological restoration projects in both Washington and Oregon are actually the European Carex divulsa, as determined by sedge specialist Dr. A. Reznicek (San Marcos Growers). Within Canada, the species possesses no special significance with respect to the criteria established by COSEWIC, apart from the possibility, suggested by its disjunct distribution in northwestern North America, that it is a relict from the Hypsithermal Interval of warm, dry climate 4,000-6,000 years b.p.Carex tumulicola was listed by a nursery, with other species being tested, for possible use in creating the roof garden at the Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion project (Thuring 2007). It has subsequently been established that the cultivated samples being tested were likely nursery stock of the European Carex divulsa (Thuring, pers.comm. to E. Haber, 2008).
Aboriginal peoples in British Columbia have historically used sedges (“swamp hay”) as a traditional source of both fibre and fodder (Turner 1979). However, individual sedge species are generally not distinguished (Turner 1979), and there are no specific records of Carex tumulicola being utilized for this purpose either in Canada or the U.S.
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