Bohemian Sedge

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Bohemian sedge (lat. Carex bohemica) - or

Syteiform sedge, is a herbaceous perennial plant of the genus Sedge (lat. Carex) of the family of the same name Sedge (lat. Cyperaceae). A sort of nesting doll from the word "sedge". With their original inflorescences, similar to miniature green bristly hedgehogs, they have gained popularity among gardeners who love to decorate reservoirs and humid shady places of personal acres of Russian land. The long and narrow leaves of Syteiform sedge are decorative and soft.

What's in your name

Each person can experience the meaning of the word "sedge" and its Latin counterpart "Carex" by risking running his hand along narrow leaves with sharp edges, lightly squeezing the leaf with his hand. Such an experience forever leaves in the memory a cutting pain and unpleasant wounds on the skin, and also dawns on the mind that both words were born from the verb "cut".

The species epithet "bohemica", which in the Russian version sounds like "bohemian" or "syteiform", reflects the appearance of this plant, somewhat out of the general row of plants of the genus Osoka. And those external signs, behavior that do not fit into the usual standards and views of society on a particular subject or phenomenon, people call the word "bohemian." So Bohemian sedge, decorating its lush, spreading clumps with original inflorescences, reminds botanists more of a plant from the genus Syt (Latin Cyperus), also belonging to the Sedge family (Latin Cyperaceae).

Description

The perennial of Syteiform sedge is supported by a non-creeping underground shortened rhizome, which gives birth to light green spreading turf from renewal buds located at the surface of the earth. In the wild, the plant chooses moist soils for itself along the shores of natural reservoirs.

The external similarity of Sedge with plants of the Cereals family completely disappears if we take a closer look at the structure of their stems. In cereals, the stems are cylindrical and hollow inside. Sedges have completely different stems. In particular, the stems of Bohemian sedge have an oblate-triangular shape and are solid inside, not hollow. The surface of the stems is smooth.

Long, narrow, flat leaves are soft to the touch. They bend in different directions from the center of the turf, sometimes almost touching the ground with their sharp noses.

The "highlight" of Bohemian sedge are its original inflorescences. They are dense heads formed by very small flowers. Flower sacs are equipped with long noses, giving the entire inflorescence the appearance of a bristling little hedgehog lost in sedge foliage. This association is reinforced by three bracts acting as a wrapper, the height of which is much higher than the surrounding bristly hedgehog inflorescence.

The crown of the growing cycle is a non-expanding oblong single-seeded fruit.

Use as an ornamental plant

Fashion manages not only women's outfits, but also directs landscape designers who suddenly took a fancy to plants from the sedge family. They began to draw the attention of gardeners to how different types of sedges, which love moist soils, look good on the banks of artificial summer cottages.

Shade tolerance of plants allows you to fill places in the country where sun-loving plants refuse to grow and bloom. And, although most sedge species cannot boast of beautiful flowering, but conquer the hearts of gardeners with their picturesque foliage, Bohemian sedge attracts attention precisely with its unusual capitate inflorescences, similar to miniature green or brownish hedgehogs nestling on the thin stems of the plant.