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Wheat sedge

Carex atherodes

Also called Awned Sedge, Slough Sedge, Hairy Leaved Lake Sedge

Wheat sedge
Photo: Gary Larson, Public domain

Wheat sedge (Carex atherodes) is a perennial, grass-like wetland sedge native to Eurasia and much of North America, common in marshes and moist prairie. It is grown mainly in wet or boggy garden spots and rain gardens, where constant moisture is the key to success.

Family
Cyperaceae (Cyper family)
Grows as
Grass
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Keep the soil constantly moist to wet, or grow it in shallow standing water.
Soil
Wet, fertile loam or mucky soil; tolerates clay.
Temperature
Hardy in cold winters; suited to temperate climates, tolerating frost well.
How easy
Easy
Native range
Subarctic & Temp. Northern Hemisphere
Climate
temperate

About

Carex atherodes is a species of sedge known by the common name wheat sedge. It is native to Eurasia and much of North America including most of Canada and the United States. It is a very common wetland plant across the American Midwest and areas west. It grows in moist and wet habitat, such as marshes and moist prairie land, and it may grow in shallow water. This sedge produces triangular, hollow stems 30 to 120 centimeters tall. The leaves are hairy, especially on the lower parts, and the leaf sheath is tinted with reddish purple. The inflorescence is up to 60 centimeters long and made up of several spikes; those spikes near the tip are usually staminate, and those lower in the inflorescence are usually pistillate. The tip of each fruit has two or more long, thin teeth.

Other Carex plants

Carex abitibiana · Indian Valley sedge · Abruptbeak sedge · Thicket sedge · Small Dusky Sedge · Seoul Sedge · Acid Loving Sedge · Carex acocksii · Slender Tufted-sedge · Carex acutata · Lesser pond sedge · Circumpolar sedge

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Carex atherodes by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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