General Landscape Uses:
Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. Also margins of ponds and lakes.
Ecological Restoration Notes: A major component of the southern Everglades marshes and other freshwater wetlands.
Availability:
Available at native plant nurseries in central Florida.
Description: Medium emergent herbaceous sedge with narrow round stems.
Dimensions: Emergent 1-3 feet in height. Spreading from underground stems (rhizomes) and forming large patches.
Growth Rate: Moderate to fast.
Range:
Southeastern United States west to Texas and south to the Monroe County Keys; West Indies, Mexico, Central America and South America. In the Monroe County Keys, disjunct from Miami-Dade County to Big Pine Key and the lower Keys.
Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Map of Postal Code Areas of IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Habitats: Freshwater and brackish marshes.
Soils: Wet, inundated freshwater or brackish soils.
Nutritional Requirements: Moderate to low; it prefers soils with organic content, but will still grow reasonably well in nutrient poor soils.
Salt Water Tolerance: Moderate; tolerates brackish water or occasional inundation by salt water.
Salt Wind Tolerance: Moderate; grows near salt water, but is protected from direct salt spray by other vegetation.
Drought Tolerance: Low; requires moist to wet soils and is intolerant of long periods of drought.
Light Requirements: Full sun.
Flower Color: Brown inflorescence.
Flower Characteristics: Semi-showy inflorescence.
Flowering Season: All year.
Fruit: Inconspicuous achene.
Horticultural Notes: Can be grown from seed or divisions.
