Tufted Sedge
Carex strictaOur first acquaintance with sedges is usually gained by using the stout clumps of Tufted Sedge (Carex stricta) as steppingstones while crossing a wet meadow.
This sedge is one of our most common species, and the tufts of long, gracefully spreading leaves should be well known to those who search the swales for orchids and pitcherplants, since the firm tussocks save one many an undesired plunge into muddy water.
The Tufted Sedge blooms from June till August and is very common by damp waysides and in wet soil, where the plant is usually about three feet in height with rough, three-angled stems at whose summits are borne three to five narrow, erect spikes of blossoms.
The spikes are from one to two inches long, with deep brown scales which show green mid-veins and lighter coloured margins.