Carex pendula

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Carex pendula
Carex pendula 1.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Cyperaceae
Genus: Carex
Species:
C. pendula
Binomial name
Carex pendula

Carex pendula (pendulous sedge, [1] also known as hanging, drooping or weeping sedge) is a large sedge of the genus Carex . It occurs in woodland, scrubland, hedges and beside streams, preferring damp, heavy clay soils. It is sometimes grown as a garden plant because of its distinctive appearance.

Contents

It is native to western, central and southern parts of Europe occurring north to Sweden, Denmark and parts of Scotland where it reaches 58° N.[ citation needed ] It is also found in north-west Africa, the Azores, Madeira and parts of the Middle East. [2]

Description

Inflorescence: one male spike (left) and four female spikes Carex pendula0.jpg
Inflorescence: one male spike (left) and four female spikes

Carex pendula is a tall, perennial plant which forms large, dense tufts. It can grow to 1.8 metres, occasionally reaching 2.4 metres. The smooth stems are triangular in cross-section with rounded angles. The long, hairless leaves are yellowish-green above and glaucous below. They are 8–20 mm wide. The simple flowers are borne on long, drooping, catkin-like spikes. There are 1–2 male spikes at the top of the stem with usually 4–5 female spikes below them. The male spikes are 55–160 mm long while the females spikes are 50–260 mm long and 5–7 mm wide. The fruits are green-brown and 3–5 mm long with a 1–2.5-mm beak. The plant typically flowers from May to June and fruits from June to July.

It has been introduced to New Zealand and has begun to spread into the wild in the United States, where it has been recorded from Washington, Virginia, and California. [3] [4]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Carex utriculata</i> Species of grass-like plant

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<i>Carex secta</i> Species of grass-like plant

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<i>Carex specuicola</i> Species of grass-like plant

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<i>Carex riparia</i> Species of grass-like plant

Carex riparia, the greater pond sedge, is a species of sedge found across Europe and Asia. It grows in a variety of wet habitats, and can be a dominant species in some swamps. It is Britain's largest Carex, growing up to 130 cm tall, with glaucous leaves up to 160 cm long. It hybridises with a number of other Carex species, including the closely related Carex acutiformis – the lesser pond sedge. A variegated cultivar is grown as an ornamental grass.

<i>Carex hirta</i> Species of grass-like plant

Carex hirta, the hairy sedge or hammer sedge, is a species of sedge native across Europe. It has characteristic hairy leaves and inflorescences, and is the type species of the genus Carex.

<i>Carex binervis</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Carex spicata</i> Species of grass-like plant

Carex spicata is a species of sedge in the genus Carex.

<i>Carex pilulifera</i> Species of grass-like plant

Carex pilulifera, the pill sedge, is a European species of sedge found in acid heaths, woods and grassland from Macaronesia to Scandinavia. It grows up to 30 cm (12 in) tall, with 2–4 female spikes and 1 male spike in an inflorescence. These stalks bend as the seeds ripen, and the seeds are collected and dispersed by ants of the species Myrmica ruginodis.

<i>Carex sylvatica</i> Species of grass-like plant

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.

<i>Carex lacustris</i> Species of grass-like plant

Carex lacustris, known as lake sedge, is a tufted grass-like perennial of the sedge family (Cyperaceae), native to southern Canada and the northern United States. C. lacustris us an herbaceous surface-piercing plant that grows in water up to 50 cm (1.6 ft) deep, and grows 50–150 cm (1.6–4.9 ft) tall. It grows well in marshes and swampy woods of the boreal forest, along river and lake shores, in ditches, marshes, swamps, and other wetland habitat. It grows on muck, sedge peat, wet sand or silt, in filtered or full sunlight.

<i>Carex pseudocyperus</i> Species of grass-like plant

Carex pseudocyperus is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common name cyperus sedge or hop sedge. It grows in marshes, swamps, and the margins of ponds, rivers and canals. The stems can be up to 90 centimetres (35 in) with one male spike and 3 to 5 pendulous female spikes, and bright yellow-green leaves to 1.2 metres.

<i>Carex eburnea</i> Species of grass-like plant

Carex eburnea, known as ivory sedge, ebony sedge, and bristleleaf or bristle-leaved sedge, is a small and slender sedge native to North America, from Alaska and Newfoundland south to central Mexico.

<i>Carex appressa</i> Species of sedge

Carex appressa, the tall sedge, is a species of flowering plant in the family Cyperaceae. It is native to New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, and generally in the South West Pacific.

<i>Carex sprengelii</i> Species of grass-like plant

Carex sprengelii, known as Sprengel's sedge and long-beaked sedge, is a sedge with hanging seed heads, native to North America.

<i>Carex blanda</i> Species of grass-like plant

Carex blanda, the common woodland sedge or eastern woodland sedge, is a species of sedge native to a wide variety of habitats in the eastern and central United States and Canada.

<i>Carex davisii</i> Species of grass-like plant

Carex davisii, known as Davis' sedge or awned graceful sedge, is a species of Carex native to North America. It is listed as an endangered, threatened, or species of concern across much of edge of its range. It was named in the 1820s by Lewis David de Schweinitz and John Torrey in honor of Emerson Davis (1798–1866), a Massachusetts educator and "enthusiastic student of the genus" Carex.

Carex arctogena is a member of the sedge family (Cyperaceae) which grows in high alpine areas. It is one of the few "bipolar" species; it has populations in Greenland, Scandinavia, Russia, Canada and southern South America. Plants in the far north and south appear to be genetically identical, having taken advantage of a similar niches on opposite ends of the globe.

<i>Carex baileyi</i> Species of grass-like plant

Carex baileyi is a sedge in section Vesicariae the genus Carex native to the Appalachian Mountains in Eastern North America. It is commonly called Bailey's sedge. Carex baileyi was named in honor of Liberty Hyde Bailey by its discoverer, Nathaniel_Lord_Britton.

References

  1. BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  2. "Carex pendula". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 23 July 2008.
  3. Flora of North America. Carex pendula. Accessed 23 July 2008.
  4. CalFlora. Carex pendula. Accessed 6 September 2022.