Carex plantaginea Lam.
Plantain-leaf sedge, seersucker sedge
Plantain-leaf sedge is native to New England and nearby Canada in North America.
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Desperately Seeking Carex With close to 800 species in North America, and 2000 worldwide, many Carex species are difficult to identify. You might want to consult this quick guide to Carex anatomy. |
Plants: Grows in dense tufts (cespitose). Culms (stems) are erect or arching. They are hairless and green. Leaves are all basal, emerging from a red-purple sheath. Since the leaves are evergreen, plants often appear beat-up in the spring.
Leaves: Leaves are evergreen, hairless, with a set of three parallel ribs, 6–17 ⨉ ¼–1¼″ (14–42 cm ⨉ 8–32 mm). Viewed in cross section, the leaves have a zig-zagged shape. They often have a rippled appearance, hence the common name “seersucker.” Leaves on the culms are smaller, reddish purple, and tubular.
Flowers: Each culm contains 2-4 pistillate (female) spikes and is topped by a single staminate (male) spike. The female spikes are ½–1½″ (1.3–3.8 cm) long, and roughly cylindrical. The male spike is reddish-purple, and up to ¾″ (1.9 cm) long. Blooming begins in mid-spring.
Fruits: Achenes are about 1/16″ (2.5 mm) long, ovoid, and 3-angled.
Habitats: Rich deciduous forests, on wooded slopes and ravines, in calcerous soils. It is often associated with basswood and ferns.
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Similar species. |
Online References:
References:
9/14/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (17 × 11 cm) 
6/15/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 1½ × 1′ (49 × 36 cm) 
10/5/2018 · Oak Hill, Littleton, Massachusetts 
6/30/2025 · Buck's Ledge Community Forest, Bethel, Maine · ≈ 13 × 9″ (33 × 22 cm) 
8/27/2016 · Williams Barn and Sørhaug Woods, Groton, Massachusetts 
6/27/2025 · Butler Head Preserve, Bath, Maine · ≈ 9 × 6″ (22 × 15 cm) 
9/14/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 15 × 10″ (39 × 26 cm) 
6/15/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 16 × 12″ (39 × 29 cm) 
8/12/2017 · Bates Land and Blackman Land, Groton Conservation Trust, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 10 × 6″ (24 × 16 cm) 
8/16/2020 · Long Reach Preserve, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 12 × 8″ (31 × 20 cm) 
8/9/2021 · Hedgehog Mountain, Freeport, Maine · ≈ 11 × 7″ (28 × 18 cm) 
6/30/2025 · Buck's Ledge Community Forest, Bethel, Maine · ≈ 14 × 9″ (35 × 23 cm) 
6/15/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 17 × 12″ (44 × 29 cm) 
9/14/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 12 × 8″ (31 × 20 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Liliopsida | Monocots (plants with a single seed leaf); includes the lily family |
| Subclass | Commelinidae | Dayflowers and spiderworts, and several others |
| Order | Cyperales | Flowering plants including grasses |
| Family | Cyperaceae | Sedge family |
| Genus | Carex | The “true” sedges |
| Species | plantaginea | Means “resembling a plantain” |
Carex plantaginea description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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