Species Native to Missouri
Common Name: sedge
Type: Rush or Sedge
Family: Cyperaceae
Native Range: Eastern North America
Zone: 4 to 8
Height: 1.00 to 3.00 feet
Spread: 1.00 to 2.00 feet
Bloom Time: May to June
Bloom Description: Greenish yellow
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium to wet
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Naturalize, Rain Garden
Flower: Showy
Tolerate: Deer, Erosion, Wet Soil
Culture
Easily grown in moist to wet soils in full sun to part shade. Tolerates shady conditions.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Carex annectens is a sedge (sometimes commonly called yellowfruit sedge) that grows in dense tussocks (clumps) to 1-3' tall and to 2' wide. It is native to eastern North America. In Missouri, it is found throughout the State in bottomland prairies, pond/lake margins, sinkhole ponds, fens, marshes, fields, roadside ditches, depressions and moist disturbed ground (Steyermark). It is occasionally found as an emergent aquatic. Narrow, glaucous, grass-like leaves (to 24" long) grow in dense clumps. Flowers appear in late spring in green/yellow/brown spikes atop stems rising above the foliage.
Genus name from Latin means cutter in reference to the sharp leaves and stem edges (rushes are round but sedges have edges) found on most species' plants.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems.
Uses
Best grown in mass or groups for foliage effect in moist to wet areas. Good selection for low spots, stream/pond margins or areas with seasonal flooding. Also may be grown in a variety of upland locations as long as soils are kept consistently moist. Effective accent for smaller gardens.