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Boreal Bog Sedge

Boreal Bog Sedge

Carex paupercula

Identify the Boreal Bog Sedge from a photo and log your finds with Florapass.

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How common: Common

Boreal Bog Sedge is a small, bright‑green sedge of northern wetlands. It is most often seen in bogs and swampy woods, but also on open mires and wet shores. Its drooping side flower clusters and reddish‑brown leaf bases help you spot it.

Did you know?

  • The top flower cluster carries the pollen, while the drooping side clusters mostly bear the seeds.
  • It is wind‑pollinated, so it does not need showy petals.

About the species

Identification

A small, loose‑tufted sedge, 10–20 cm tall. Stems firm and clearly three‑edged. Leaves flat, 2–4 mm wide, bright green, almost as long as the stem; the bases are shiny reddish‑brown and wrap around the stem. The flower head has one narrow, mostly pollen‑bearing cluster at the tip and 2–3 shorter, drooping clusters on long stalks below, spaced apart. Each tiny flower sits in a pale green, slightly flattened sac with a short opening and a dark, sharp‑tipped cover. A leaf‑like piece at the base of the lowest cluster is about as long as the whole flower head. Look‑alikes lack this mix of drooping, well‑spaced side clusters and reddish‑brown bases. Flowers in Finland in June–July.

Plant group

Grasses, sedges and rushes

Habitat

mire

Flowering

Jun–Jul

About the habitat

Grows in nutrient‑poor bogs, swampy forests, open fens and wet lakeshores in cool northern regions. Common throughout the country.

Sources

Photo: Екатерина Гущина, CC BY 4.0 https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/6423119432

Text: Pinkka: Kasvitieteen retkeily Ahvenanmaalle - Nåtön luontopolku, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.40762

Text: Pinkka (Luomus), CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.40762

Text: Pinkka: A Pohjolan kasveja - Carex, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.40762

Text: Wikipedia (English), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carex_paupercula

See also