Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

SOUTHERN SEDGE

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Carex austrina (Small ) Mack.

Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas

Perennial

Height: 1-3 feet tall

Family: Cyperaceae - Sedge Family

Flowering Period: May, June

Also Called:

Southern caric sedge.

Culms:

Prominently triangular, slender, stiff, wiry, rough, 8 to 40 inches long, much surpassing leaves, pale brown at base, often forming angle of 50 degrees or less with ground.

Leaves:

5-10, on lower 1/4 of stem, flat to slightly grooved, thick, pale-green, up to 12 inches long, 1/12 to 1/5 inch wide, upper surface and margins rough.

Sheaths:

Open, tight, occasionally somewhat wrinkled, thickened at mouth, well-developed transparent band on inner surface.

Inflorescences:

Unbranched, oblong to cylindric in outline, .8 to 1.6 inch long, to .4 inch broad, 3-10 crowded spikes; spikes egg-shaped to nearly spherical, 1/5 to 1/3 inch, densely aggregated yet still distinguishable, 1-2 lower spikes sometimes separated from others; bracts bristle-like, lowest usually .4 to .8 inch long; staminate flowers above pistillate; perigynia 8-20 per spike, pale-green, ascending, with or without nerves, beak 2-toothed; pistillate scales egg-shaped, with green midvein, slightly shorter than perigynia, tips short-awned; staminate scales narrowly lanceolate, pale brown, tips long-pointed.

Fruits:

Achenes, egg-shaped to nearly round, tip abruptly short-pointed, 1-seeded; stigmas 2, slender, reddish brown

Habitat:

Open, dry, upland prairies, roadsides, and openings in limestone wooded slopes; sandy soil; prefers full sun.

Distribution:

East 1/2 of Kansas.

Southern sedge inflorescence