SCIENTIFIC NAME: Carex stricta
COMMON NAMES: Common Tussock Sedge, Tussock Sedge, Upright Sedge, Uptight Sedge
BLOOM TIME: May, June, July
PLANT PROFILE:
- Tussock sedges are usually taller than the other grasses around them.
- 2 ½ -4 ft. tall with 3 edged stems, as all sedges have.
- Leaves are medium green & alternating on plant, sometimes to 3 ft. long & floppy.
- Flowers are firm reddish brown spikes.
- Habitat: full sun & wet to moist mucky soil.
- Present in north to central Illinois.
INSECT/ANIMAL INTERACTIONS:
- Leaf beetles have been observed to feed on Tussock Sedge along with caterpillars of butterflies, skippers, & moths.
- The seeds & spikelets of wetland sedges are an important source of food to many ducks, rails, & other wetland birds. To a limited extent, Muskrats feed on the roots, sprouts, & culms of these plants.
- There are also records of Snapping Turtle & Eastern Mud Turtles feeding on the spikelets & possibly other parts of sedges.
- Because Tussock Sedge often forms dense colonies of tall plants, it provides excellent cover for the Sedge Wren & other kinds of wildlife.