Description: This native perennial
plant is about ½–1½' tall, producing both fertile and
infertile shoots that are unbranched. The culm of each plant is somewhat
triangular and hairless. The alternate leaves are up to 6" long and ¼"
across. They are grayish green, linear, and hairless, arching upward from the
stem. Each fertile shoot produces a flowering stalk with 1-3 pistillate
spikelets and a terminal staminate spikelet at its apex. The staminate spikelet
is about 1½" long and very conspicuous when the golden yellow pollen is
produced. However, it turns brown shortly after the pollen is shed. The
peduncle of the staminate spikelet is about 1½" long. Each pistillate
spikelet is about 1" long and about ¼" across. The uppermost pistillate
spikelet is nearly sessile, while the lower pistillate spikelets (if there are
any) have peduncles up to 1" long. These pistillate spikelets are cylindrical
in shape and densely packed with pistillate flowers; these spikelets have a
grainy appearance because of the inflated perigynia of the flowers. The
perigynium of each pistillate flower is about 3–4 mm. in length and
2–3 mm. across; this perigynium is obovoid with a short beak that is often
curved, and it is strongly veined along the sides. The perigynia are greyish
green like the leaves, although they later turn brown when the achenes ripen.
The pistillate scales are the same length or a little shorter than the
perigynia. Each pistillate scale is oval-shaped, but it tapers to a short sharp
point. Young pistillate scales have green central veins and broad translucent
margins; they are often tinted purple, but turn brown with age. The blooming
period occurs during the late spring and lasts about 1-2 weeks. The mature
achenes are about 3 mm. long and 2 mm. across; they are obovoid, bluntly
3-angled, and brown. The root system consists of long rhizomes and fibrous
roots. Loose colonies of plants are often formed from these
rhizomes.
Cultivation: The
preference is full to partial sun, moist to dry conditions, and loam,
clay-loam, or rocky alkaline soil. Once it becomes established, this sedge is
adaptable and easy to grow.
Range &
Habitat: Mead's Sedge occurs occasionally in central and northern
Illinois, while in the southern part of the state it is less common. Habitats
include moist to slightly dry black soil prairies and dolomite prairies, hill
prairies, savannas with sparse ground vegetation, sedge meadows, limestone
glades, and areas
along railroads.
This sedge is an understory plant of prairies, where it adapts to the shade of
the taller vegetation during the summer and fall.
Faunal Associations: Little information is available
about floral-faunal relationships for Mead's Sedge, although considerable
information is available for Carex spp. (Sedges) in general. The
caterpillars of various butterflies, skippers, and moths feed on Carex
spp. (see Lepidoptera
Table), while the seeds of sedges are eaten by upland gamebirds, waterfowl,
and songbirds (see Bird
Table). Leafhoppers that feed on sedges include Cosmotettix
lineatus, Cosmotettix luteocephalus, Cosmotettix bierni, and
Elymana inornata.
Photographic
Location: The wildflower garden of the webmaster in Urbana,
Illinois.
Comments: Mead's Sedge is
short, slender, and upright in its growth habit, and its greyish green foliage
is rather distinctive for a Carex sp. (Sedge). Usually, sedges have
foliage that is light green and shiny. Mead's Sedge is also unusual in forming
loose colonies of plants from long rhizomes, rather than tight tufts of leaves
from short rhizomes. However, it is difficult to distinguish Mead's Sedge from
Carex tetanica: In the past, they were regarded as different varieties
of the same species. The latter species is supposed to differ from Mead's Sedge
in the following ways: 1) Its foliage is green, rather than greyish green, 2)
The base of its culm is often purplish red, rather than light brown, 3) Its
pistillate spikelets are slightly more slender (less than ¼") than those
of Mead's Sedge, and 4) Its perigynia and achenes are slightly smaller in size.
In the field, these two species have a tendency to intergrade, particularly in
the Great Lakes area. However, Mead's Sedge has a tendency to occur in drier
habitats than Carex tetanica; the latter is primarily a wetland
species.