Carex lacustris

Carex lacustris

Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Cyperaceae
Genus: Carex
Subgenus: Carex subg. Carex
Section: Carex sect. Paludosae
Species:
C. lacustris
Binomial name
Carex lacustris
Willd. 1805
US and Canadian distribution.
Synonyms
  • C. riparia M.A. Curtis var. lacustris (Willd.) Kük.
  • Anithista lacustris (Willd.) Raf. 1840
  • Anithista riparia Raf. 1840
  • Carex riparia Muhl. 1817
  • Carex riparia var. lacustris Engler 1909

Carex lacustris, known as lake sedge (lucastris is from the Latin lacus, or lake), is a tufted grass-like perennial of the sedge family (Cyperaceae), native to southern Canada and the northern United States. C. lacustris us an herbaceous surface-piercing plant that grows in water up to 50 cm (1.6 ft) deep, and grows 50–150 cm (1.6–4.9 ft) tall. It grows well in marshes and swampy woods of the boreal forest, along river and lake shores, in ditches, marshes, swamps, and other wetland habitat. It grows on muck, sedge peat, wet sand or silt, in filtered or full sunlight.

It's a common sedge that dominates many native wetlands, or intermixes with other sedges and grasses, and its ability to spread by rhizomes makes it a good colonizer for a large area.