FIELD ID CHARACTERISTICS:
This species is fairly unique among similar Carex species in having abundant leaves adjacent to the flowering stems. The flowering heads are clustered together at the top of the stem, egg-shaped, and brownish-green. All Carex spp. have "v" shaped leaf blades with distinctive keels. All sedges also have triangular flowering stems (in cross-section). Identification to species requires mature fruits and seeds (achenes).
Description: A medium to large, grass-like, non-clumping sedge usually 0.4 to 1.2 m tall. Stems solid and triangular.
Leaves: Fine leaves with distinct linear indent, or keel, at midrib.
Flowers/Fruit: Egg-shaped seedheads; perigynia winged, but not to base. Inflorescence contains male and female flowers crowded in separate cylindrical clusters on the same plant. All Carex species share the feature of seeds (achenes) being completely encompassed by an outer covering (perigynium). Flowers and fruits May through June.
Habit and Range: Brownwater floodplains and bottomlands statewide. Less common in the Coastal Plain.
COMMON CONFUSIONS:
Carex tribuloides (blunt brown sedge) is similar to Carex scoparia (broom sedge), which is a smaller sedge with overlapping range and flowering/fruiting times. However, in C. scoparia the perigynia are winged to the base, while C. tribuloides perigynia are winged, but not to the base.
Link to side-by-side comparisons page
