Tussock Sedge
Carex
stricta
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Tussock Sedge is one of
many grass-like plants called sedges. Sedges are often hard
to tell apart, because they all have long, green, triangular
(shaped like a triangle) stems with rough edges.
Tussock Sedge grows in
moist forests and marshes.
They are usually right at the water level, or just above the
water level.
Tussock Sege grows in
clumps up to two feet tall and two feet wide. As leaves die,
they build up around the living plant, making a "tussock" or
little hill.
Flower stems and flowers
are reddish-brown. Tussock Sedge blooms in May and
June.
The seeds
of this plant are eaten by Mallard, Wood Duck, Wild Turkey,
Northern Cardinal, Dark-eyed Junco, squirrels, and other
animals. White-tailed Deer eat the leaves, and moles eat the
roots.
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Erv Evans, North Carolina
State University
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Copyright, Muhlenburg,
Tortoise Reserve
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The seeds of sedges are
carried by the wind. Besides growing from seed, Tussock
Sedge also has rhizomes.
Rhizomes are underground stems which spread and sprout new
plants. Many sedges close together can form a
colony.
As Tussock Sedge clumps
form, they trap water between them. This helps other plants,
such as duckweed and cattails, grow. It also creates
habitat
and good places to lay eggs for frogs, salamanders, and
insects.
Other moisture-loving
plants, such as ferns,
can grow directly from sedge clumps. If the water around the
tussocks gets too deep, the sedges will die and make way for
other plants.
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Andy Fyon
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Some trees and
other plants which often grow alongside Tussock
Sedge include: Eastern White Pine, Red Maple,
American Beech, Sugar Maple, Eastern Redcedar,
White Oak, Black Oak, Silver Maple, American Elm,
Sassafras, Loblolly Pine, Black Willow, Flowering
Dogwood, Highbush Blueberry, and Kentucky
Bluegrass.
Tussock Sedge
also provides great nest sites for birds, including
ducks, geese, and other ground-nesters. Other birds
use leaves and stems to build nests.
Sedges also
provide great cover
and protection for small animals.
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