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Southern waxy sedge

Carex glaucescens

Also called Clustered Sedge

Southern waxy sedge
Photo: Karabingham97, CC BY-SA 4.0

Southern waxy sedge is a grass-like perennial sedge native to the southeastern U.S. and Texas, grown mainly in wet or boggy ground. Its key to success is keeping roots consistently wet, which suits it to bog gardens and pond margins.

Family
Cyperaceae (Cyper family)
Grows as
Grass, Perennial
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Keep the soil or pot constantly moist to waterlogged; it is an obligate wetland species.
Soil
Acidic, peaty or boggy mix that stays wet.
Temperature
Hardy in temperate climates; suited to cool to warm summers and mild winters as a native of the southeastern U.S.
How easy
Moderate
Native range
SE. U.S.A. to Texas
Climate
temperate

About

Carex glaucescens is a perennial sedge that belongs to the family Cyperaceae. The common name of this sedge is the southern waxy sedge due to the blue-grey, waxy appearance of the sheaths and fruits. The term "glaucous" means "gleaming" or "grey" in Latin; the specific epithet of C. glaucescens is derived from this term. Carex glaucescens is a native plant in North America and is an obligate wetland species in the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains, Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, and the Great Plains.

Where it grows

C. glaucescens may be found in acidic or peaty habitats, such as depression ponds, wet pine savannas, seepage bogs, and pocosins. It often acts as an indicator species in wetland environments.

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 glaucescens 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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