Species: Carex amplifolia
Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Big-leaf Sedge is a perennial grass-like plant with a single or several sharply triangular stems, 5-10 dm tall, which arise together from creeping rhizomes. The flat leaves, 8-20 mm wide and up to 5 dm long, are distributed evenly along the stem. Foliage is glabrous. Flowers are clustered in cylindical spikes, 4-10 cm long, and arise from the axils of the smaller upper leaves (bracts). A single spike of male flowers occurs at the tip with several female spikes on short stalks below. The glabrous perigynia (female flowers), 2.5-3.5 mm long, are egg-shaped with a short beak. The lance-shaped scales are slightly shorter than the perigynia which they subtend and have a dark papery margin and a green or pale midvein, often with a pointed tip. There are 3 stigmas and the seed (achene) is 3-sided.
Classification
Monocotyledoneae
Cyperales
Cyperaceae
Carex
NatureServe
Classification
Ecology and Life History
Big-leaf Sedge is a perennial grass-like plant with a single or several sharply triangular stems, 5-10 dm tall, which arise together from creeping rhizomes. The flat leaves, 8-20 mm wide and up to 5 dm long, are distributed evenly along the stem. Foliage is glabrous. Flowers are clustered in cylindical spikes, 4-10 cm long, and arise from the axils of the smaller upper leaves (bracts). A single spike of male flowers occurs at the tip with several female spikes on short stalks below. The glabrous perigynia (female flowers), 2.5-3.5 mm long, are egg-shaped with a short beak. The lance-shaped scales are slightly shorter than the perigynia which they subtend and have a dark papery margin and a green or pale midvein, often with a pointed tip. There are 3 stigmas and the seed (achene) is 3-sided.