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European woodland sedge

Carex sylvatica

Also called Wood-sedge, Woodland Sedge

European woodland sedge
Photo: Franz Xaver, CC BY-SA 3.0
Family
Cyperaceae (Cyper family)
Grows as
Grass
Native range
Europe to Iran
Climate
temperate

About

Carex sylvatica is a species of sedge found in deciduous woodlands across Europe. It typically reaches 60 cm (24 in) tall, and has an inflorescence made up of 3–5 pendent female spikes and a single male spike. It is also used as a garden plant, and has been introduced to North America and New Zealand.

Where it grows

Carex sylvatica is found across Europe, and into parts of Asia, as far east as Iran. It has also been introduced to North America, where it occurs in Ontario, New York and North Carolina, and to New Zealand, where it was first recorded in 1969.

Uses

Carex sylvatica can be used in gardens as ground cover under trees or shrubs. Carl Linnaeus recorded that the Sami people used the plant as an insulating wadding.

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 sylvatica by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.

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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