Carex sprengelii | |
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Hanging spikes of seeds nearing maturity | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Clade: | Commelinids |
Order: | Poales |
Family: | Cyperaceae |
Genus: | Carex |
Subgenus: | Carex subg. Carex |
Section: | Carex sect. Hymenochlaenae |
Species: | C. sprengelii
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Binomial name | |
Carex sprengelii |
Carex sprengelii, known as Sprengel's sedge and long-beaked sedge, [1] is a sedge with hanging seed heads, native to North America.
Long-beaked sedge has flowering stems ( culms) 30 to 90 cm (1 to 3 ft) long. The leaves are 2.5 to 4 mm (0.10 to 0.16 in) wide and shorter than the flowering stems. [1]
Each flowering stem has 1 to 4 spikes of flowers. [2] While flowering, they are crowded at the tip of the stem. The terminal spike is either all male or male with a few female flowers at the bottom. Each female spike has 10 to 40 female flowers, each about 1 mm (0.04 in) apart. [1] Each spike is on its own stalk ( pedicel), and each succeeding spike is shorter than the previous one. As the female flowers develop into seeds ( achenes), the stalk droops or nods downwards. [2] The bract enclosing the seed has a long tapered tip (beak), which gives the plant its common name. [3]