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Brownish Sedge

Brownish Sedge

Carex brunnescens

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How common: Common

Brownish Sedge is a small, tuft-forming, grass-like plant with very narrow leaves and short, almost round flower heads. The heads start green and turn dark brown as they ripen. You can see it in open woods, heaths, rocky places, roadsides and along shores.

Did you know?

  • It is wind‑pollinated, so it does not need insects to set seed.
  • Its flower heads change from green to dark brown, inspiring the English name.

About the species

Identification

Tuft-forming, 15–50 cm tall. Stems slightly curved, solid and with sharp edges. Leaves as long as the stems or shorter, very narrow (about 2 mm), pure green at first, later with small brown speckles; lower leaf bases yellow-brown. The flower cluster is 1.5–4 cm long with 4–7 small, almost round heads: the upper ones tight and sticking out, the lower ones clearly separate. Heads are green, turning dark brown as they ripen. In each head, pollen flowers are below and seed-bearing flowers above. Grey Sedge is paler and its heads look less rounded. Flowers in Finland in June–July.

Plant group

Grasses, sedges and rushes

Habitat

rock

Flowering

Jun–Jul

About the habitat

Grows in open conifer woods, heaths, rocky ground, roadsides, embankments and along shores. Common throughout the country.

Sources

Photo: geosesarma, CC BY 4.0 https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/6252393396

Text: Pinkka: A Pohjolan kasveja - Carex, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.40327

Text: Pinkka (Luomus), CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.40327

Text: Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polkusara

See also