Sedges

Look out for sedges, which look like grasses but have three-sided as opposed to circular stems. Sedges have edges. Their bluish-green leaves spread outwards in three directions. Carex sedge plants bear both male and female flowers with the male spikelet on top, fluffy with anthers, while lower female spikelets get fuller as seeds develop. The fifty carex sedge species grow in wet peatlands and grasslands including species rich Shannon callows. They are a pioneer species, colonising bare peatland. Sedges are positive indicator species in ACRES, increasing scores and payments for farmers with Low Input Grassland and in CP areas and are part of our native Irish biodiversity.

Sedge habitat