Carex flacca (syn. Carex glauca), variously called blue sedge, gray carex, glaucous sedge, or carnation-grass, is a species of sedge native to parts of Europe and North Africa.Bluestem.ca: Carex flacca (Blue Sedge). accessed 30 November 2011 It is frequent in a range of habitats, including grasslands, moorlands, exposed and disturbed soil, and the upper edges of salt marshes. It has naturalized in eastern North America.
Description Carex flacca leaves are blue-green above, glaucous beneath, to in height. The arching leaves are about as long as the inflorescence, . The plant spreads in expanding clumps by lateral shoots rooting. Most stems have two male spikes, close together and often looking like one at first glance. Fruits are , roundish, with a very short beak, under . They are densely packed on the spike, not loose and gappy like Carex panicea. Female spikes are approximately long and wide. Female spikes are typically two, and can be short-stalked and upright, or longer-stalked and nodding.
Cultivation Carex flacca is cultivated by plant nurseries as an ornamental plant, planted for accent or as a groundcover in gardens and public landscapes.San Marcos Growers It is also used in drought tolerant landscaping and erosion control plantings. It grows in sun to part shade settings.
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