Summary ²

Carex aquatilis is a species of sedge known by the common names water sedge and leafy tussock sedge. It has a circumboreal distribution, occurring throughout the northern reaches of the Northern Hemisphere. It grows in many types of mountainous and Arctic habitat, including temperate coniferous forest, alpine meadows, tundra, and wetlands. There are several varieties of this species, and it is somewhat variable in appearance.

Perennial sedge usually > 25 cm tall; upright, brittle stems, triangular in cross section (with rounded edges) or almost cylindrical. Leaves: smooth, shiny, 3-5mm across; green not glaucous on upper side. Flowers: a leaf-like bract subtends and is longer than the flower head; each flower head has 1-3 male spikes above 2-3 female spikes, often with some transitional spikes in between; female glumes are not pointed at tip. Fruit: utricle 2-2.5mm long, longer than glumes.

Distribuiton ³

Husvik

Comments ³

carex species can be difficult to identify. The native Smith's sedge has a single flower head with obvious hooked bristles extending from each flower.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Biopix, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://www.biopix.com/photos/ANE-Carex-aquatilis-01924.JPG
2. Adapted by stuwhiterod from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carex_aquatilis
3. (c) Kelvin Floyd, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

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