Long-stalked Yellow-sedge

Carex lepidocarpa

The Long-stalked Yellow-sedge is a tall, grassy plant that grows in wet places. It has long, slender leaves and produces yellowish flowers that attract tiny insects.

Habitat: Wetlands

Appearance

The Long-stalked Yellow-sedge has bright green, grass-like leaves that grow in dense clumps. Its most distinctive feature is its slender, tall stems (stalks) topped with small, yellow-brown flower spikelets. These spikelets give the plant its 'yellow' name and sway gently in the breeze.

KingdomPlantaePhylumTracheophytaClassLiliopsidaOrderPoalesFamilyCyperaceaeGenusCarex

Long-stalked Yellow-sedge

Interesting facts

Its triangular stem feels different from round grass stems, a cool way to tell them apart!

This sedge is like a wetland engineer, helping to clean water naturally as it grows!

Tiny seeds of the Long-stalked Yellow-sedge can float on water, riding currents to new places!

You can find this plant happily growing in places that are wet year-round, like sponges of nature!

Special abilities

Long-stalked Yellow-sedge has specialized roots that help it absorb nutrients and oxygen even in waterlogged, soggy soil.

Long-stalked Yellow-sedge can release tiny pollen grains into the wind, helping it reproduce without needing animal visitors.

Long-stalked Yellow-sedge has long, tough stems that help its flowers catch the wind and stand tall in wetland breezes.

Long-stalked Yellow-sedge can grow in dense clumps, and its roots help hold wetland soil together, preventing it from washing away.

Measurements & details

Height: 20-50 cm
Spread: 15-30 cm
Flower Size: 0.5-1.5 cm
Bloom Season: Late spring to summer
Edible: No
Toxicity: None
Lifecycle: Perennial
Pollination Method: Wind

Ecological connections

eaten by

European Water Vole

Arvicola terrestris

Volves munch on its roots and stems.

eaten by

Mallard

Anas platyrhynchos

Ducks may eat its small seeds.

shelters

Marsh Wolf Spider

Pardosa amentata

Sedge clumps provide cover for spiders.

Traits

Flowering

Flowering plants are any plants that produce flowers as part of their reproductive cycle.

Grass-Like

Grass-like plants are herbaceous plants that visually resemble true grasses, typically having long, narrow leaves.

Medicinal

Medicinal plants possess chemical compounds that can be used for therapeutic purposes to treat illnesses or maintain health.

Pollinator Magnet

Describes plants that are particularly attractive and beneficial to a wide range of pollinating organisms.

Decomposer

Describes organisms that break down dead organic material, recycling nutrients back into the ecosystem.

Wetland

This habitat trait identifies species found in wetlands, which are areas of land saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, including marshes, swamps, and bogs.