Carex firma

Carex firma is a species of sedge that grows in the mountains of southern and central Europe.

Description
Carex firma forms thick cushions. Its leaves are up to 8 cm long in normal conditions (up to 10 cm in moist, sheltered localities), dark green and stiff. The stems are up to 20 cm tall (exceptionally 30 cm), but always at least twice as long as the leaves.

Ecology
In synecology, Carex firma is a characteristic part of the "Caricetum firmae" (also called "Firmetum"), which is an important community in the alpine zone over calcareous rock.

Carex firma can survive temperatures as low as -50 C.

Taxonomy
Carex firma was first described by Nicolaus Thomas Host in 1797, in his work Synopsis Plantarum in Austria provinciisque adjacentibus sponte crescentium.