Disjunctions of Needle-leaved Sedge (Carex duriuscula) and Thread-leaved Sedge (Carex filifolia) in the Husky Lakes area of Northwest Territories—first records for the Canadian true Arctic and possible Pleistocene relicts

Abstract

Disjunctions are reported for Needle-leaved Sedge (Carex duriuscula) and Thread-leaved Sedge (Carex filifolia) into the Arctic region of Northwest Territories at the Husky Lakes south of Tuktoyaktuk. These are significant additions to the Canadian Arctic flora and may be part of a group of relicts of the Arctic vegetation of the Pleistocene, specifically the Tundra-steppe. The occurrence of relict vegetation east of the Mackenzie Delta is east of its frequently cited eastern limit in North America.