Grasses List |
Sedge Club- & Spike-Rush Family [Cyperaceae] |
category
status
flower
maleflower
femalepetals
type
shortstem
roundedstem
stem
round holerarity
sex
Unknown date, saltmarsh edge, A Quay, IoW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
Has underground rhizomes which creep some considerable distance and also bears shoots which emerge above ground. The slender, wiry stems are 3-angled with rounded edges and are 10 to 50cm high (up to 80cm high). Feels rough nearing the top. The inflorescence is quite short and clustered. |
Unknown date, saltmarsh edge, A Quay, IoW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
Inflorescence is oval in shape and often clustered, as here. It is purple-brown in real life; here a decaying specimen. The lowest bract is a long, narrow, green, finely-toothed leaf-like bristle which is usually reaches way above the inflorescence, but not quite here (unless something has shrunk a bit?).
Male flowers are at the tip, the females are below, the lowest often being all female. The female glumes ar 3.5 to 5mm long, purple-brown, oval and have a white mid-rib with margins which are membranous. The tips are abruptly sharply pointed. The lowest bract is green. The fruits (none visible here - it is too early) are between 3.5 to 4mm long, ovoidal on one side but flat on the other side |
Unknown date, saltmarsh edge, A Quay, IoW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
Main stem on left, roundly angled and with many ribs. The leaf sheath on right, which is similar but not circular - its a sheath. |
Unknown date, saltmarsh edge, A Quay, IoW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
The sheath (aka leaf) again on the right, showing the way it peels off the main stem. The leaves are approx as long as the stems, mid-green and either flat or in-rolled, between 1 to 3mm wide |
Unknown date, saltmarsh edge, A Quay, IoW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
The tip of a leaf; it is angled for rigidity. |
Unknown date, saltmarsh edge, A Quay, IoW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
The base of the stem. |
It is found in England northwards to Lancashire and Northumberland, locally common in the South East, but rarer up north. Overall, it is a rare [RR] |
Carex | divisa | ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ | Cyperaceae |
Carex (Sedge) |
Sedge Club- & Spike-Rush Family [Cyperaceae] |