Awl-Fruited Sedge

Carex stipata

The Awl-Fruited Sedge is an herbaceous perennial plant found in nutritionally poor, wet or moist areas. The stems reach up to 75–100 cm high, and are triangular with flat leaves. The delicate leaves are straw-green in color and are 3–10 mm wide. In the spring and summer, greenish-brown flowering spikes appear, which become spikelets containing small, yellow-brown achenes with a pointed beak. This plant is an essential habitat for many species of waterfowl, dragonflies, and butterflies, and it is also an important fodder source for livestock.