The Olmsted Parks of Louisville: A Botanical Field Guide

Plant Descriptions: Sedges, Rushes, and Grasses

388 Sedges/Rushes/Grasses fruits 3 to 20 per spike, green, obovate, overlapping, beaked. April through June. Fruits: Achene ovoid. Distribution: Moist wooded slopes, especially in limestone soils. Uncommon. In Kentucky: AP, IP, ME. The Cyperaceae is a large family with species found in all parts of the world, especially in damp or wet regions of the temperate and subarctic zones. It is also an economically important family with members used for a variety of purposes in providing food, fiber, medicine, and forage. Some species are cultivated for water garden ornamentals. This woodland sedge with wide leaves is attractive and an exciting find in Cherokee and Iroquois. Carex Sedge Family Carex albursina Sheld. Cyperaceae Key features: Stems tufted; leaves lax, light green; flowers inconspicuous; fruits inflated, beak abruptly bent. Origin: Native. Life form: Perennial herb from fibrous roots. Stems: Lax, winged, basal sheath papery, brown above, reddish purple below. Leaves: Blades flat, ascending to lax, midrib distinct with 2 lateral veins; stem leaves alternate, shorter; to 2 inches wide. Flowers: In terminal and lateral spikes with broad leaflike bracts exceeding the spikes, often concealing them; inflated Cher, Iroq Sedges/Rushes/Grasses 389 Distribution: Disturbed moist ground, cultivated beds, turf, waterways, roadside ditches, fields, pond margins. Common. In Kentucky: AP, IP, ME. Similar species: Chufa (Cyperus esculentus L.) is a perennial herb bearing small, dark underground tubers on the stolons. The yellowish green triangular stems have grasslike leaves that are mostly basal. The spikes are ovoid to hemispheric and made up of clusters of yellowish brown to dark brown, linear, very small spikelets that emerge at right angles to the stalk. Disturbed ground as above. Common weed in all parks. July through September. In Kentucky: AP, IP, ME. Chufa is considered to be one of the world’s worst weeds in agricultural lands. Also known as yellow nutsedge, northern nutsedge, earth almond, and tigernut, it is an ancient crop of the Middle East and Egypt, found in tombs 4,000 years old. In southern Europe, western Asia, and parts of Africa, it is grown for its edible tubers, which are roasted and eaten like potatoes but have a nutlike taste. They may be cooked, ground into a flour, or made into a cold drink. The species name means “edible.” The genus Cyperus is large and found throughout the world. The species are difficult to identify because of the small, inconspicuous flowers. Straw-colored flat-sedge Sedge Family Cyperus strigosus L. Cyperaceae Key features: Plant from rhizomes; stems triangular, light green; leaves grasslike, 3-ranked; flower clusters of straw-colored to pale brown spikelets. Origin: Native. Life form: Tufted perennial. Stems: Erect, often equal to the basal leaves, from an enlarged, reddish purple corm-like base; 10 to 30 inches tall. Leaves: Blades flat, firm, linear, margins entire, surface rough, equaling or surpassing the inflorescence. Flowers: In loose, oblong-cylindric clusters on stalks to 5 inches long; spikelets mostly horizontally radiating or upper ascending, lower descending. July through September. Fruits: Achenes 3-angled, purplish brown, narrowly oblong, surface pitted. Cher, Sen, Iroq, Shaw, Chick 390 Sedges/Rushes/Grasses that surpass the flowers; tepals 6, the outer 3 white-scaly with green stripe, inner 3 similar but with long-pointed tips; stamens 6; stigmas 3. June through September. Fruits: Capsule rounded, straw-colored; seeds tiny, dark, asymmetrical, veined, beaked. Distribution: Disturbed compacted ground in dry to wet soils, especially along paths, thin soil under trees. Common. In Kentucky: AP, IP, ME. This weedy species belongs to a family that occurs worldwide chiefly in wet or damp habitats. It has spread from North America to other continents, including Eurasia and Australia. Other common names include wire-grass, poverty rush, and field rush. Some rushes are woven into mats, ropes, baskets, and chair seats, and the pith has been used for candlewicks. The genus name, Juncus, is from the Latin word jungere, “to join” and refers to their use in rope making. Rushes are difficult to identify. They have small, inconspicuous flowers with a dried, scaly appearance. It is important to look at the apex of the basal sheath for proper identification. Path rush Rush Family Juncus tenuis Willd. Juncaceae Key features: Plants tufted, often forming dense colonies; stems wiry, of unequal lengths; flowers inconspicuous, green to brown. Origin: Native. Life form: Perennial herb from fibrous roots and rhizomes. Stems: Erect or ascending, rounded, smooth; 4 to 22 inches tall. Leaves: Basal, blades...