White Tinged Sedge, Carex albicans

White Tinged Sedge

Carex albicans

Benefits: Pollinator Benefit Graphic
Sun Shade: Plant Light Requirements Graphic
Bloom Time: Late spring/Early Summer
Hardiness Zones: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Soil Conditions: Loam
Soil Moisture: Medium, Dry
Color: Green, Straw
Fragrance: No
Height: 12-18 inches
Spacing: 12-18 inches

 Description
White Tinged Sedge, Carex albicans, also called Oak Sedge, is a rhizomatous perennial sedge that grows in a clump to 15-20 inches tall. It is found in messic to dry upland forests and shaded ledges and less frequently in sandy bottomland forests. Narrow, grass-like, upright-arching, bright green leaf blades grow in either dense tufts or loose colonies of tufts. Flowers bloom in late spring on flowering stems rising to as much as 20 inches tall. Inflorescence has a staminate terminal spike and pistillate lateral spikes. Staminate scales are green to straw-colored, often tinged with reddish purple and white-margined. Pistillate scales are usually dark brown to black with green midribs and white margins. Fruits are trigonous, one-seeded achenes enclosed in sac-like bracts.

Easily grown in medium moisture soils in part shade to full shade. Will grow in full sun. This species tolerates dry soil conditions. Plants will slowly spread by rhizomes and will self-seed in optimum growing conditions.

 Plant Notes and Herbal Uses
  Effective as a ground cover.
 Further Information

 Wisconsin Fruit Trees
 Wisconsin Edible Berry Shrubs
 Widsconsin Edible Plants-Eat On The Wild Side
 8 Dandelion Recipes
 Wisconsin Native Plant Nurseries

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