Many-leaved Sedge - Carex divulsa subsp. leersii
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Species Description
Widespread but local and most common in East Anglia and the South. Elsewhere it is scattered. Habitat includes: Places with chalk / limestone soils such as roadside verges, woodland rides, hedge banks, open grassland etc. Other names include: Chalk Sedge. Flowers: May to June. Perennial. ID: Has yellow-green leaves with a short distance between the lower two flower clusters of the inflorescence compared with (grey sedge) ssp. divulsa which has well spaced out flower clusters.
Stace 4:
Ssp. leersii (F.W. Schultz) W. Koch (C. polyphylla auct. non Kar. & Kir., C. cuprina (I. Sándor ex Heuff.) T. Nendtv. ex A. Kern.).
Leaves usually yellowish-green; inflorescence 4-8cm, with lower spikes <2cm apart; utricles 4-4.5(4.8)mm, usually reddish-brown when ripe; (2n=52, 58). Similar places to ssp. divulsa but mostly on chalk and limestone; local in Britain North to Midlothian, Channel Islands.
Key:
- Lowest spikes separated by a gap ≤2x their own length; ripe utricles divaricate from axis
- Utricles (4)4.5-5mm, cuneate at base; inflorescence 3-5(8)cm