''Carex flacca'', with common names blue sedge, gray carex, glaucous sedge, or carnation-grass, (syn. ''Carex glauca''), is a species of sedge native to parts of Europe and North Africa.Bluestem.ca: ''Carex flacca'' (Blue Sedge)
accessed 11.30.2011 It is frequent in a range of habitats, including grasslands,

moorland Moorland or moor is a type of habitat found in upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and montane grasslands and shrublands biomes, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils. Moorland, nowadays, generally ...

s, exposed and disturbed soil, and the upper edges of salt marshes. It has

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

in eastern

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

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 ''Carex panicea'', commonly known as carnation sedge, is a plant species in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. It is known as grass-like sedge and can be found in Northern and Western Europe, and also in north-eastern North America. The plant produ ...

''. 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 Groundcover or ground cover is any plant that grows over an area of ground. Groundcover provides protection of the topsoil from erosion and drought. In an ecosystem, the ground cover forms the layer of vegetation below the shrub layer known as t ...

in gardens and public landscapes.San Marcos Growers
/ref> It is also used in drought tolerant landscaping and erosion control plantings. It grows in sun to part shade settings.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q158524 flacca Flora of Europe Flora of North Africa Plants described in 1771 Garden plants of Africa Garden plants of Europe Drought-tolerant plants Groundcovers Taxa named by Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber