Pennsylvania Sedge

Growth habit

Grass/Sedge

Native distribution

Native to the Finger Lakes Region, E. North America

Cultivation

Dry, part-to-full shade. Typically an understory plant in oak woods.

Propagation

Remove perigynia and cold-moist stratify for 60-90 days with day-night temperature fluctuation.

Location

Mundy Wildflower Garden, Bioswale Garden, Hillside Garden, Bald Hill and Caroline Pinnacles, Coy Glen, Edwards Lake Cliffs Preserve, McLean Bogs, Ringwood Ponds, South Hill Swamp

Source of plant

North Creek Nurseries, Gary's Perennials, LLC, North Creek Nurseries, Bluebird Nursery Inc.

Description

Stems (1-)2-5cm, tufted in small to large, basally fibrilose clumps and also with long rhizomes; leaves 1-3mm wide, shorter than the stems in tall plants; staminate spike terminal, 1-2.5cm; pistillate spikes 1-3, sessile or short-pedunculate and loosly ascending, borne fairly close to each other and to the staminate spike, but not closely crowded, typically short-oblong, up to about 1.5cm; lowest bract 1-3cm, +/-leafy, surpassed by the staminate spike; pistillate scales castaneous to stramineous, longer or shorter than the perigynia; perigynia 2.6-4.5mm, short-hairy, 2-keeled and with several evident to obscure facial nerves, the body subglobose above the contracted base, abruptly prolonged into the sharply bidentate beak 0.2-1mm; achene rounded-triogonous.

USDA Hardiness Zone

3

Status

L4|S5|G5