Your help is appreciated. We depend on donations to help keep this site free and up to date for you. Can you please help us?

Donate

Native Plant Trust: Go Botany Discover thousands of New England plants

Carex panicea — grass-like sedge

Copyright: various copyright holders. To reuse an image, please click it to see who you will need to contact.

Facts

Grass-like sedge is native to Greenland and introduced into North America. Some believe that this plant was brought to this continent by the Vikings.

Habitat

Anthropogenic (human-disturbed or -maintained habitats), meadows and fields

New England distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

Found this plant? Take a photo and post a sighting.

North America distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

enlarge

Characteristics

Habitat
terrestrial
New England state
  • Connecticut
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Rhode Island
stem leaf blade width
1.4–4.7 mm
Lowest bract sheath
the lowest bract has a sheath longer than four millimeters
Spike on stalk
the lowest spike on the plant has a peduncle
Top spike
the uppermost spike contains only staminate flowers
Perigynium hairs
the perigynium has no hairs
Perigynium length
2.6–5.1 mm
Leaf sheath color
the leaf sheath has no pink, red or purple tinting
Leaf blade texture
the leaf blade is smooth and hairless, or rough and sandpapery
Perigynium beak teeth
the perigynium beak is not divided at the tip into two teeth, or the teeth are very tiny
Show all characteristics

  • Flowers

    Bumps on fruit
    the perigynium surface has papillae on it
    Inflorescence length
    32–210 mm
    Length of scale
    the scale is shorter than the perigynium
    Lowest spike length
    8–29 mm
    Lowest spike width
    4.5–7.5 mm
    Perigynium beak
    the perigynium has a beak
    Perigynium beak length
    Up to 0.5 mm
    Perigynium beak orientation
    the beak of the perigynium is curved, or angled out from the perigynium
    Perigynium beak serrations
    the perigynium beak has no serrations
    Perigynium beak teeth
    the perigynium beak is not divided at the tip into two teeth, or the teeth are very tiny
    Perigynium beak teeth length
    0 mm
    Perigynium color
    • brown
    • yellow
    Perigynium cross-section
    the perigynium is trigonous (triangular) in cross-section
    Perigynium hairs
    the perigynium has no hairs
    Perigynium length
    2.6–5.1 mm
    Perigynium nerve texture
    the nerves on the perigynium are raised, even after drying the perigynium
    Perigynium orientation
    • the perigynia are angled outwards
    • the perigynia are oriented vertically or pressed against the axis or adjacent perigynia
    Perigynium puffy
    the perigynium is inflated (there is space between the perigynium and the achene)
    Perigynium shape
    the perigynium body is obovate (egg-shaped, but with the widest point above the middle of the leaf blade)
    Perigynium width
    1.4–2.4 mm
    Perigynium winged
    the perigynium has no wings
    Pollen- and seed-producing spikes
    some of the spikes produce perigynia
    Pollen-producing spike length
    15–30 mm
    Pollen-producing spike number
    1
    Scale awn
    The carpellate scale does not have an awn (it may have a short point)
    Scale awn texture
    NA
    Scale color
    • green
    • purple to black
    • red-brown
    Scale tip
    the carpellate scale tip is obtuse (has a blunt point)
    Spike on stalk
    the lowest spike on the plant has a peduncle
    Spike orientation
    the spikes are oriented vertically or pressed against the axis
    Spikes per stem
    2-15
    Staminate scale tip
    the staminate scale tip is rounded to retuse (blunt or rounded, with a notch at the tip)
    Stigma branching
    the stigmas have three branches
    Top spike
    the uppermost spike contains only staminate flowers

  • Fruits or seeds

    Achene dimples
    the achene has no folds or dimples
    Achene length
    1.8–2.9 mm
    Achene width
    1.3–1.9 mm
    Style persistence
    the style falls off the mature achenes

  • Growth form

    Rhizomes
    there are long rhizomes present

  • Leaves

    Leaf arrangement
    the leaves are all produced from the base of the plant
    Leaf blade cross-section
    the leaf blade is flat or M-shaped, with two prominent side-veins
    Leaf blade length to width ratio
    39–70
    Leaf blade texture
    the leaf blade is smooth and hairless, or rough and sandpapery
    Leaf bumps
    the upper surface of the leaf blade does not have papillae
    Leaf sheath bumps
    there are no papillae at the top edge of the leaf sheath
    Leaf sheath color
    the leaf sheath has no pink, red or purple tinting
    Leaf sheath dots
    there are no dots on the leaf sheathes
    Leaf sheath folds
    there are no corrugations on the leaf sheath
    Leaf sheath texture
    the leaf sheath feels smooth, and has no hairs
    Ligule length
    0.4–8.5 mm
    Lowest bract sheath
    the lowest bract has a sheath longer than four millimeters
    Lowest leaf blade width
    1.4–4.7 mm
    Lowest leaf sheath texture
    the leaf sheath feels smooth (it may have soft hairs)
    stem leaf blade width
    1.4–4.7 mm

  • Place

    Habitat
    terrestrial
    New England state
    • Connecticut
    • Maine
    • Massachusetts
    • New Hampshire
    • Rhode Island
    Specific habitat
    • human-disturbed or -maintained habitats
    • meadows or fields

  • Stem, shoot, branch

    Plant height
    0.8–75 cm
    Relative stem height
    the main stem is taller than the leaves
    Stem cross-section
    the main stem is roughly triangular in cross-section
    Stem spacing
    the stems grow singly or a few together (they may form diffuse colonies)

Wetland status

Not classified

In New England

Distribution

Connecticut
present
Maine
present
Massachusetts
present
New Hampshire
present
Rhode Island
present
Vermont
absent

Conservation status

Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.

Massachusetts
not applicable (S-rank: SNA)

From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key

126.  Carex panicea L. E

grass-like sedge. CT, MA, ME, NH, RI. Wet-mesic to dry-mesic, often sandy, soils of fields, roadsides, and cleared areas.

Native to North America?

No

Sometimes confused with

Carex tetanica:
stems scabrous on the angles, at least near the summit, and lowermost bract of inflorescence elongate, the blade and sheath 62-111% as long as the inflorescence (vs. C. panicea, with stems smooth on the angles and lowermost bract of inflorescence short, the blade and sheath 28-58% as long as the inflorescence).

Family

Cyperaceae

Genus

Carex