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

Arisaig Sedge

(Club Sedge)

Carex buxbaumii

June-July

A perennial herb found in mesotrophic fens on or near the margins of lakes, often bordering outflow streams, and always in areas which are periodically inundated. It is often subject to light grazing by cattle.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Alpine Sedge (Syn. Close-headed Alpine Sedge)

Carex norvegica

June-July

It is a perennial herb of wet, stony slopes, ledges and turf over basic rock and with base-rich run-off. All the sites have a mainly N.-facing aspect, and occur in places where snow lies late. Populations are usually quite small and of very limited extent. From 700 m at Corrie Fee (Angus) to 975 m on Beinn Heasgarnich (Mid Perth).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Altnaharra Sedge

(String Sedge)

Carex chordorrhiza

June

This rhizomatous perennial herb is found in fens and base-poor mires, where it usually grows in standing water. Propagation appears to be mainly vegetative by long trailing runners, although genetic variation within its populations suggests that it also reproduces by seed.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Bladder Sedge

Carex vesicaria

June-July

A perennial herb of wet habitats, mainly mesotrophic and at least slightly basic, occurring where the water table lies close to or above the soil surface. It is found by lakes, rivers, streams, ponds and canals, in marshes and swamps, ditches, wet meadows and depressions in pasture, and in wet woodland. It also colonises wet hollows in disused sand-, gravel- and clay-pits. 0-455 m (Llyn Gorast, Cards.).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Bog Sedge

Carex limosa

June

A perennial herb of Sphagnum mires and the wet, peaty margins of pools, often growing in standing water. Most of its sites are acidic and oligotrophic, but unlike Carex magellanica, it tends to occur in areas subject to some mineral enrichment. Generally lowland, but reaching 830 m on Meall nan Tarmachan (Mid Perth).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Bottle Sedge

Carex rostrata

June-July

A rhizomatous perennial herb found in emergent stands on the edges of lakes and ponds, rivers and streams, in ditches, swamps, fens and bog pools, wet meadows, flush-bogs on hillsides, sea-cliff flushes, wet dune-slacks, and Alder and Salix carr. It usually grows in oligotrophic or mesotrophic, acidic waters, though it also occurs in nutrient-poor calcareous conditions.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Breadalbane Sedge

(Bristle Sedge)

Carex microglochin

July-August

A shortly-rhizomatous perennial herb of base-rich flushes on gently sloping or `stepped` ground on micaceous silt or gravel. Also, occasionally, on steep burn-sides downstream of large colonies. Reproduction appears to be mainly vegetative. Between 610 m and 975 m on Ben Lawers (Mid Perth).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Breckland Spring Sedge

(Rare Spring-sedge)

Carex ericetorum

April-May

A perennial herb restricted to dry, grazed grasslands; it occurs on infertile calcareous soils overlying limestone, chalk or chalky boulder-clay. It is a poor competitor and soon disappears if under-grazing allows the sward to become too rank. It reproduces vegetatively and by seed, albeit sparingly. Lowland, reaching 400 m near Shap (Westmorland).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Brown Sedge

Carex disticha

June-July

This rhizomatous species is found in wet meadows and marshes, fens, by ditches and streams, on the margins of lakes and ponds, and occasionally in dune-slacks. It almost invariably grows in well-illuminated sites, particularly on base-enriched substrates, and favours areas with a fluctuating water table. Generally lowland, but reaching 455 m on Windburgh Hill (Roxburghs.).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Carnation Sedge

Carex panicea

May-June

A perennial herb found in a wide range of damp or wet habitats on neutral to moderately acidic soils, including marshy grassland, hay- and water-meadows, mires, sea-cliff grassland, heaths and flushes in montane grassland; also, in Northern and Western Britain and Ireland, in the uppermost parts of saltmarshes. 0-1125 m (Cairngorms).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Common Sedge

Carex nigra

May-July

It occurs in a wide range of wet habitats, avoiding only those which are extremely basic or acidic. It is found in fens, fen-meadows, bogs, streamsides and flushes, wet grassland and dune-slacks. This sedge is morphologically very variable: tussock forms may occur in stagnant, acidic sites, and rhizomatous tufted variants are known from calcareous mires. 0-1005 m (Beinn Heasgarnich, Mid Perth).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Common Yellow Sedge

Carex demissa

(Carex viridula ssp. oedocarpa, Carex tumidicarpa)

June-July

This perennial grows on wet ground on soils ranging from acidic to neutral or occasionally mildly alkaline. It is found in a wide variety of open habitats, including sandy shores, tracks, streamsides, wet fields and heathland, the margins of ponds and lakes, wet rocky hillsides, flushes and seepage areas. It is the commonest Yellow Sedge.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Curved Sedge

Carex maritima

June

A rhizomatous perennial herb found in short vegetation in damp dune-slacks and on open sand, often close to freshwater seepages or where streams debouch onto the shore. It is mobile and can colonise new sites with suitable habitat. Populations can be very large.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Distant Sedge

Carex distans

June

A perennial herb found on sea-cliffs, rocky shores, in coastal grasslands and the uppermost parts of saltmarshes; usually growing in bare rock-crevices or on free-draining sandy or gravelly substrates, but also in flushes and seepage zones on cliffs, and where streams debouch onto the shore. Inland, it occurs in wet meadows, marshes and fens on mineral-rich soils.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Divided Sedge

Carex divisa

May-June

A rhizomatous perennial herb of brackish ditches, dune-slacks and damp grasslands near the sea. It avoids areas of standing water. Apart from a concentration of sites along the Colne estuary, its Essex distribution is becoming very scattered and vulnerable to coastal tourist developments, construction of new sea defences, and conversion of grazing marshes to arable.

Dotted Sedge

Carex punctata

June

A perennial herb of sheltered rock ledges and clefts on sea-cliffs, invariably in seepage zones where freshwater trickles down the cliff-face. It is also found on wet sandy patches in saltmarshes, and amongst rocks or on sand where streams debouch onto the shore. It occurs in similar habitats to Carex distans, and may sometimes be mistaken for it.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Downy-Fruited Sedge

Carex filiformis

May-June

This rhizomatous perennial herb occurs on calcium-rich soils in a wide range of habitats. It is most characteristic of damp meadows, but is also found in dry grassland, grassy woodland rides and along roadsides.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Drooping Sedge (Syn. Pendulous Sedge)

Carex pendula

May-June

A perennial herb usually growing on damp base-rich, heavy (often clay) soils, in shaded habitats. It is found in deciduous woodland, by ditches, ponds, streams, in hedgerows and on track-sides. Reproduction by seed can be prolific. Lowland, but exceptionally at 410 m at Alston (Cumberland).

Flower from Hampshire. Photo from BritishFlora

Flowers from Hampshire. Photo from BritishFlora

Foliage from Hampshire. Photo from BritishFlora

Form from Hampshire. Photo from BritishFlora

Dwarf Sedge

Carex humilis

March-April

A perennial herb of closely-grazed, calcareous grassland, especially on steep slopes on chalk downland. Over limestone it also occurs locally in grazed pastures as well as on field margins, track-sides and rock outcrops. It fruits freely, but regeneration from seed and spread into new areas has only rarely been reported.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Dwarf Yellow Sedge

(Small-fruited Yellow-sedge)

Carex serotina

(Carex oederi, Carex viridula subsp. viridula)

June-July

Sand (local in wet open sandy and gravelly situations)

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form