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Carex riparia

Common name:	Great Pond Sedge	Family:	Cyperaceae
Author:	Curtis.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Much of Europe, excluding the north but including Britain, N. Africa, W. Asia and the Caucasus.
Habitat:	By slow flowing rivers, in ditches and ponds and occasionally on drier ground[17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	C. hyalinolepis[B,CARICEAE,P] C. impressa[B,P] C. lacustris var. laxiflora[B,P] C. riparia auct. non[P] C. riparia var. impressa[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Great Pond-sedge [L], Oeverzegge [D], Shoreline Sedge [P,B],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	rex = king riparia = of river banks
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Cyperales. Sedge family

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen perennial growing to 1.5m by 2m at a fast rate. It is hardy to zone 6. It is in leaf all year, in flower from May to June, and the seeds ripen from July to August. The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and are pollinated by Wind. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist or wet soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Bog Garden, Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Root Seed.

Root - cooked[172].
Seed[172]. No further details are given, but the seed is small and fiddly to use[K].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Bedding.

The straw is used for bedding[61].

Cultivation details

Easily grown in a damp to wet soil in full sun or shade[162, 200].
A very aggressive and invasive plant[162, 200].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[233].

Propagation

Seed - sow in situ in the spring in a moist soil in light shade. If seed is in short supply it can be sown in a cold frame and be planted out in the summer. The seed usually germinates in 2 - 6 weeks at 15° c[138].
Division in spring[200]. Very easy, larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the summer or following spring.

Suppliers

Plants For A Future is working with the following groups to try and make these plants easily available. Parts of the proceeds will be donated to so please mention us when ordering.

Wildwood Nurseries: Lower Manor Cottage
Thornbury
Holsworthy
Devon
EX22 7DD
Email: lorna@macace.co.uk
Phone 01409 261324 Fax 01409 261324
Distribution: UK
How to order: Direct from Wildwood by email/phone
Last Updated: March 03
Item: Carex pendula (pendulous sedge*)

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Carex hyalinolepis (a possible synonym).

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for the family Cyperaceae.

To be included in the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[138] Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 3. Thompson and Morgan. 1989
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation.

[162] Grounds. R. Ornamental Grasses. Christopher Helm 1989 ISBN 0-7470-1219-9
Cultivation details of many of the grasses and bamboos. Well illustrated.

[172] Schofield. J. J. Discovering Wild Plants - Alaska, W. Canada and the Northwest.
A nice guide to some useful plants in that area.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Carex+riparia
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