Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie
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  • Bull Sedge

    SCIENTIFIC NAME: Carex pellita


    COMMON NAMES: Bull Sedge, Broad-leaved Woolly Sedge, Woolly Sedge

    BLOOM TIME: May, June, July, Aug

    PLANT PROFILE:

    • It stands 1-2 ½ ft. tall, with medium green leaf blades which Leave blades are medium green & 10 in. long x 5mm wide. Like other sedges, the stems are 3 angled or triangular rather than round like flowers or grasses.
    • It has short and bristly spikelets with a grainy appearance. 
    • Spikelets are 1 ft. long x 1/4 in. across.
    • and turn brown after blooming
    • Habitat: full sun with wet or moist conditions, likes wet prairies, flood plains, woodlands, & roadside ditches.
    • Mostly seen in north and central Illinois, seldom south.

    INSECT/ANIMAL INTERACTIONS:

    • Waterfowl, rails, and other wetland birds eat the seeds and/or seed heads.
    • The Canada Goose also eats the leaves.
    • Muskrats occasionally eat the rootstocks, culms, and young shoots.