SCIENTIFIC NAME: Carex stipata
COMMON NAME: Marsh Fox Sedge, Common Fox Sedge, Awlfruit Sedge, Awl-fruited Sedge, Stalk-grain Sedge, Sawbeak Sedge, Owlfruit Sedge, Prickly Sedge
BLOOM TIME: June, July
PLANT PROFILE:
Known as prickly sedge for its prickly appearance.
- Sedges differ from grasses and flowers by having a 3 angled stem.
- Grows to 48 in. tall on unbranched stems.
- Stems are spongy, with green leaf blades up to 100cm long and 10mm wide.
- During maturity it resembles a fox tail then turns brown.
- Habitat: wet conditions, marsh edges, wet meadows, & ditches.
INSECT/ANIMAL INTERACTIONS:
- Foliage of wetland sedges is eaten by grasshoppers.
- Caterpillars of several skippers & butterflies also feed on the foliage.
- Larvae of several billbugs live in the stems.
- Seed heads of wetland sedges are a source of food for Mallards & other ducks, several rails, woodcocks, swamp sparrows, & some upland gamebirds.
- Foliage rarely eaten by white-tailed deer.