The Genus Carex in Central Pennsylvania • June 10, 2026

Join us for the first of Pensylvania Botany's three full day summer workshops, each in a different region of Pennsylvania!

The Genus Carex in Central Pennsylvania

Instructors
Larry Klotz, Professor Emeritus of Biology, Shippensburg University
Steve Grund, Botanist (retired), Western Pennsylvania Conservancy/Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program

Workshop Limit: 20 participants. Full-time student rate is available. Register early!

We will start by keying some sedges together and talking about some of the easily confused species we might encounter. After lunch (weather permitting), we will visit a number of stations in the park, and perhaps nearby, in an attempt to see as many species of Carex as we can, focusing on the more difficult to identify species. We will go outside even if there is light rain, but if the weather is not conducive to fieldwork, we will continue to work with specimens inside. Dress for fieldwork, with sturdy boots, sun protection, and a rain parka.

This will be an intermediate to advanced botanical workshop. Attendees should have some experience identifying sedges. If you are not familiar with terms like perigynium, sheath, and ligule, you are welcome to attend, but you will want to do some homework before the workshop.

For the lab time indoors, bring Plants of Pennsylvania: An Illustrated Manual by Rhoads and Block, if you have a copy. We will provide hand lenses and one or two dissecting scopes (at a shared station).

Please download Flora Quest: The Northern Tier onto a mobile device. This app is reasonably priced at $19.99 and has excellent dichotomous keys using currently accepted taxonomy (tending to a “splitty” philosophy). It runs on Apple devices as well as Android devices. https://ncbg.unc.edu/research/unc-herbarium/flora-apps/

Lunch Options

Plan ahead for your lunch, as there will not be time to travel. Bring one from home, or:

• Purchase lunch at Sheetz locations on your way to the park. You'll find them in Huntingdon for those coming from the east; and from the west, there is one in Holidaysburg, as well as more in Altoona (Sheetz Capital of the World).
• Concession food will be available in the park for lunch that day. We'll share that menu in advance as soon as it is provided to us.