Mace Sedge

Growth habit

Grass/Sedge

Native distribution

Native to the Finger Lakes Region, E. North America

Cultivation

A unusual-looking plant with 2' long strap-like leaves and distinctive inflated fruits in mace-like clusters.
Light: part shade to full shade.
Moisture and Soil: moist, rich.

Propagation

Seed Treatment and Storage: Moist cold stratify 30-60-90 days. Reluctant to germinate. May take several months or another whole year.

Wildlife value

Several insects feed on Asa Gray's sedge, including the caterpillars of the eyed brown butterfly (Satyrodes eurydice) and Appalachian brown butterfly (S. appalachia), leaf-mining larvae of two moths (Elachista argentosa and E. madarella), larvae of the ignorant apamea moth (Apamea indocilis), and an aphid (Carolinaia caricis). Sedge seeds are eaten by a variety of wildlife, including ducks, rails, grouse, swamp sparrows, tree sparrows, Lincoln sparrows, snow buntings, larkspurs, and redpoll. Along with insects, sedge seeds make up a significant portion of the diet of ruffed grouse chicks. Muskrats ocasionally feed on the rhizomes, culms, and young shoots, and white tailed deer sparingly consume the foliage. Carex grayi also offers valuable cover for many small animals and habitat for ground-nesting birds.

Location

Mundy Wildflower Garden, Floriculture War Memorial Trail

Source of plant

Jelitto Seeds

Description

Clump forming, 30-100cm. Leaves broad, flat, 6-11mm wide, pale green, margin rough. Bracts leaflike, exceeding inflorescence; male spike terminal, thin, female spikes 1-2, 12-30 flowered, round; utricle inflated, firm, glabrous, 15-20mm in fruit, spreading from a single point, short-beaked.

USDA Hardiness Zone

7

Status

L2|S5|G4G5