''Carex flexuosa'', commonly called flexuous white-edge sedge, or Rudge's white-edge sedge, is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the sedge family,

Cyperaceae The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large, with some 5,500 known species described in about 90 genera, the largest being the "true sedges" genus ''Carex'' w ...

. It is native to the eastern North America, where it is found in eastern Canada, the northeastern and midwestern United States, and southward in the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

. Its natural habitat is in upland forests, rock outcrops, and

Appalachian balds In the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States, balds are mountain summits or crests covered primarily by thick vegetation of native grasses or shrubs occurring in areas where heavy forest growth would be expected. Balds are found prim ...

. It is typically found in areas with acidic soil. ''Carex flexuosa'' is a clumping perennial. It is similar to '' Carex debilis'', of which it is frequently considered a variety, as ''Carex debilis'' var. ''rudgei''. ''Carex flexuosa'' can be distinguished from ''C. debilis'' by its smaller

perigynia In botany, a perigynium (plural: perigynia), also referred to as a utricle, typically refers to a sac that surrounds the achene of plants in the genus ''Carex'' (Cyperaceae). The perigynium is a modified prophyll, tissue of leaf origin, that enclos ...

that are broadest near the middle. It is also similar to '' Carex allegheniensis'', from which ''Carex flexuosa'' can be distinguished by its glabrous (hairless) perigynia.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q60497417, from2=Q24692103 flexuosa Flora of North America Plants described in 1805 Taxa named by Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg