Carex flacca

Photo © Carl Farmer
1 Aug 2002 Portree, Skye

Frequent in a range of habitats including grassland, moorland, bare ground and upper edge of saltmarsh.

Female spikes c 2-4 cm long, c 4-6 mm wide.

ID: Stem leaves green above, glaucous beneath. Most stems have 2 male spikes, close together and often looking like one at first glance. Fruit 2-2.5 mm, roundish, with a very short beak, under 0.3 mm. Fruit densely packed on the spike, not loose and gappy like C panicea

Other features: Lowest bract about as long as inflorescence on average. Female spikes typically 2, can be short-stalked and upright, or longer-stalked and nodding.

The next 3 pictures are all of the same plant. In the first you can just make out the 2 dark grey male spikes pointing up into the top right corner. The 2 nodding female spikes contrast with the 2 erect female spikes in the top picture on this page. The close-up of the male spike shows the brown stamens on their slender filaments, and shows the tip of the smaller male spike to the left. The female spike close-up shows the fruits with the 3 stigmas still attached. Carex nigra, which also has glaucous leaves and black glumes, has 2 stigmas per fruit. Its glumes are jet black, whereas those of C flacca are dark purplish grey.

West Highland Flora