Nature · Ferns, grasses & other plants

Pendulous sedge

Native · flowers May–July · to 1.5 m · wet woodland, clay soils and stream banks

Carex pendula — Cyperaceae

Pendulous sedge is one of the largest native British sedges: a big, arching, evergreen-looking clump of long, yellowish-green leaves from which slender stems bend over under the weight of long, drooping, catkin-like flower spikes. It grows in wet woodland and beside streams, especially on heavy clay, and is locally common in England and Wales. It is a flowering plant, though like all sedges it has tiny, wind-pollinated flowers.

How to spot them

▸Great arching clumps to 1.5 m, with long, broad, yellowish-green leaves, rough on the edges
▸Long, slender, nodding spikes hanging from the arching flower stems, yellow-green to brown, in May to July
▸Triangular stem in cross-section: sedges have edges
▸Wet woodland, streamsides, clay soils and ditch banks; also self-seeding in gardens
▸Look-alike: greater pond-sedge has erect, stiff spikes and grows in open marsh; pendulous sedge is the only common one with long hanging spikes

How to know it

One of the biggest British sedges, with long, drooping, catkin-like spikes bending its stems into arches

Pendulous sedge — also weeping sedge or hanging sedge.

Locally common in England and Wales, especially in ancient woodland on clay and heavy soils

Pendulous sedge — Wildlife Trusts.

Its triangular stems fit the old rhyme 'sedges have edges'

Pendulous sedge — Carex.

Its Latin species name means 'hanging', for its nodding flower spikes

Pendulous sedge — Carex pendula.

A clump-forming sedge spreading by short rhizomes, widely grown in gardens and self-seeding into woods

Pendulous sedge.

Quick-fire facts

•Grows up to 1.5 m tall, with long yellowish-green leaves and arching stems that carry drooping yellow catkin-like spikes
•Flowers May to July; alternative names include weeping sedge and hanging sedge
•Locally common throughout England and Wales, with a preference for ancient woodland on clay and heavy soils
•A clump-forming plant that spreads by short underground rhizomes
•Sedges (Cyperaceae) have solid, triangular stems; rushes are round and grasses are hollow
•Its species name pendula is Latin for 'hanging'
•Widely planted in gardens, from which it escapes and self-seeds in woods

Drill it — 5 cards

1 / 5new card

Sources

The Wildlife Trusts — Pendulous sedge