Features: Juniper sedge (Carex juniperorum) is found in Red Cedar savannah on limestone outcrops (called alvars). This species is quite new to science, and thus it is not well studied. Sedges resemble grasses, but their stems are unjointed and often three-sided. It is a small, inconspicuous plant which spreads mainly by producing new shoots from the base.

Status: Endangered Provincially and Nationally

Range: Juniper sedge has so far been found in only two places in North America; in southern Ohio and northern Kentucky, and in Ontario. In Ontario it is found on the Napanee limestone plain in Hastings County. Range Maps

Threats: The alvar habitat in which the sedge grows is quarried for limestone, and is grazed. The site in Ontario is further threatened by a nearby housing development.

Protection: Protection is provided to Juniper Sedge under Ontario's Endangered Species Act, 2007, which prohibits actions such as killing, harming, possessing, selling or trading the species, or damaging or destroying the habitat. The Natural Heritage component of the Provincial Policy Statement under Ontario's Planning Act provides for the protection of significant portions of the habitat of species listed in regulation under the ESA. Ontario's Conservation Land Tax Incentive Program (CLTIP) will provide 100% tax relief to private landowners for the portion of their property (minimum size 0.5 acres) determined to be habitat of species in regulation under the ESA. The CLTIP program recognizes, encourages and supports private land stewardship. The area in which plants have been found is privately owned. Some plants are within a provincial ANSI.

Text Sources: Oldham 1998

Last Modified Date: October 2008