Sedge: Carex True Sedge Family:-

Carex True Sedges are "unbranched, usually hairless perennials, with solid, usually leafy stems and grass-like leaves, usually keeled beneath and channelled above; differeing from Grasses in having the flowers arranged all round their stalk instead of on opposite rows, and the male and female flowers always distinct and often in separate spikes but always on the same plant, except in Separate-headed Sedge. Most have 3 stigmas; in flower the yellow anthers are conspicuous; bracts at the base of and usually exceeding each flower-spike may be leaf-like or bristle-like. The fruits, whose nutlets are wholly encased in a little sac, are essential for identification in many species. Those from the middle of spikes are most typical. N.B. 'Spike' in Carex = 'Spikelet' in other Cyperaceae. Sedges can be divided into 3 main groups:-

1. Those with male and female flowers in separate dissimilar stalked or unstalked spikes on the same stem ( Moor Sedge, Smooth Sedge, Distant Sedge, Dotted Sedge, Tawny Sedge, Large-Fruited Sedge, Common Yellow Sedge, Large Yellow Sedge, ), the male at the top
2. Those with male and female flowers together in the same spike, several such usually grouped in a single head; male usually at the top ( ).
3. Those with a solitary terminal spike, usually containing both male and female flowers ().

" from Collins Pocket Guide to Wild Flowers by David McClintock and R.S.R. Fitter assisted by Francis Rose - ISBN 0 00 219363 9 - Eleventh Impression 1978

Sedge: Carex True Sedge Family plant table with its Common Name - Botanical Name. Flowering Months Range. Habitat with link to that Wild Flower Habitat Gallery:-

Common Name

Botanical Name

Flowering Months

Habitat

Straight-leaved Sedge (Syn. Water Sedge)

Carex aquatilis

July

A morphologically variable, rhizomatous perennial. In the lowlands, robust plants grow on river banks and the margins of lakes, mires and reed-swamps. In its upland sites, it is a shorter plant and often grows on deep, wet, gently sloping peat. 0-975 m (Glas Maol, Angus).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Tall Bog Sedge

Carex paupercula

June

Bog (rare, in bog-pools only in Northern England; Ireland, only in County Antrim)

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Tall Spiked Sedge

Carex polyphylla

May-June

Hedges (locally frequent in chalk or limestone hedge-banks). The true Carex polyphylla is not in Britain and probably not in Europe.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Tawny Sedge

Carex hostiana

June

A perennial herb of damp, base-rich grassland and flushes. It occurs in fens, flushed valley bogs and mires, wet meadows and marshes. In lowland areas of Ireland it tolerates more acidic sites (Webb & Scannell, 1983). 0?630 m (Melmerby High Scar, Cumberland) and 760 m in W. Ross.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Thin-Spiked Wood Sedge

Carex strigosa

May-June

A perennial herb of moist, base-rich, sometimes clayey, soils in deciduous or mixed woodlands, often found near streams or seepages. It occurs most frequently in clearings and along tracks, but is sometimes found in considerable shade. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Tufted Sedge

Carex elata

May-July

A tussock-forming perennial herb of oligotrophic or mesotrophic (sometimes eutrophic) marshy habitats, often calcareous, including fens, the margins of lakes, ponds, rivers and canals, ditches prone to seasonal flooding, and wet Alnus or Salix woodland. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Tussock Sedge (Syn. Greater Tussock Sedge)

Carex paniculata

May-June

This tussock-forming perennial herb occurs in a wide range of habitats, usually somewhat base-enriched, including swamps and fens, the edges of lakes, ponds, canals and ditches, open fen-carr and swampy woodland. It usually grows in the open, where it fruits freely, but tolerates moderate shade, although it can become smaller and less vigorous, flowering only sparsely. Generally lowland, but to over 600 m on Gylchedd (Denbs.). Typically grows with Lesser Pond Sedge and Greater Pond Sedge).

Mixed Male and Female Flower-Spikes

Form at Hooke in Dorset

Mixed Male and Female Flower-Spike

White Sedge

Carex curta

(Carex canescens)

May-June

A perennial herb of lowland bogs, floating Sphagnum rafts in lowland basin mires, nutrient-poor mires in the mountains, and wet, acidic, occasionally sandy heaths. 0-1100 m (Ben Alder, Westerness).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Wick Sedge

(Estuarine Sedge)

Carex recta

July

A rhizomatous perennial found in marshes along the lower reaches and estuaries of the Wick River (Caithness), the River Beauly and the Kyle of Sutherland (both E. Ross), growing in places where silt is periodically deposited or where the water-table fluctuates. It sets few viable seeds and reproduction is mostly vegetative. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Wood Sedge

Carex sylvatica

May-June

This perennial herb is found in a wide range of woodland habitats, generally preferring those where there is some base-enrichment and where the soil is moist and clayey. In many woods it is particularly frequent along the sides of paths or rutted tracks. It is occasionally found in open scrub and damp grassland, but likely to be a woodland relic in such places. Generally lowland, but reaching 565 m on Ben Bulben (Co. Sligo), and reportedly at 640 m in the Scottish Highlands.

Flower

Flowers from Isle of Wight. Photo from BritishFlora

Foliage from Isle of Wight. Photo from BritishFlora

Form from Isle of Wight. Photo from BritishFlora