''Carex riparia'', the greater pond sedge, is a species of

sedge 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'' wit ...

found across

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

. It grows in a variety of wet

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s, and can be a dominant species in some

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s. It is Britain's largest ''Carex'', growing up to tall, with glaucous leaves up to long. It hybridises with a number of other ''Carex'' species, including the closely related ''

Carex acutiformis ''Carex acutiformis'', the lesser pond-sedge, is a species of sedge. Description It grows up to tall, with leaves up to long and wide. Ecology It is native to parts of northern and western Europe, where it grows in moist spots in a number of ...

'' – the lesser pond sedge. A

variegated Variegation is the appearance of differently coloured zones in the leaves and sometimes the stems and fruit of plants. Species with variegated individuals are sometimes found in the understory of tropical rainforests, and this habitat is the s ...

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

is grown as an

ornamental grass Ornamental grasses are grasses grown as ornamental plants. Ornamental grasses are popular in many colder hardiness zones for their resilience to cold temperatures and aesthetic value throughout fall and winter seasons. Classifications Along ...

Distribution and habitat

''Carex riparia'' has a broad

distribution Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations * Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a vari ...

over

and

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

and

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

, with isolated occurrences in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

. It can form large stands along slow-flowing rivers, canals, on the edges of lakes, and in wet woodland. It may be the dominant species in

s, especially if there is

standing water Water stagnation occurs when water stops flowing. Stagnant water can be a major environmental hazard. Dangers Malaria and dengue are among the main dangers of stagnant water, which can become a breeding ground for the mosquitoes that transmi ...

in spring, and is also found in tall-herb fens, alongside ''

'', ''

Carex acuta ''Carex acuta'', the acute sedge, slender tufted-sedge, or slim sedge, can be found growing on the margins of rivers and lakes in the Palaearctic terrestrial ecoregions in beds of wet, alkaline or slightly acid depressions with mineral soil. ...

'' and other similar species.

Description

''Carex riparia'' was first described by

William Curtis William Curtis (11 January 1746 – 7 July 1799) was an English botanist and entomologist, who was born at Alton, Hampshire, site of the Curtis Museum. Curtis began as an apothecary, before turning his attention to botany and other natural his ...

in his 1783 work ''

Flora Londinensis ''Flora Londinensis'' is a folio sized book that described the flora found in the London region of the mid 18th century. The ''Flora'' was published by William Curtis in six large volumes. The descriptions of the plants included hand-coloured cop ...

''. It is easily confused with ''

'', the lesser pond sedge, but can be told apart by its greater number of male

spike Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Books * ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave * ''The Spike'' (book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick * ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter F. Hamilto ...

s, which grow close together at the top of the culm. The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

of ''C. riparia'' are up to long by wide,

glaucous ''Glaucous'' (, ) is used to describe the pale grey or bluish-green appearance of the surfaces of some plants, as well as in the names of birds, such as the glaucous gull (''Larus hyperboreus''), glaucous-winged gull (''Larus glaucescens''), g ...

, and narrowing at the tip to a trigonous point. The stems are tall, rough, and sharply triangular in section, making ''C. riparia'' Britain's largest species of ''Carex''. They bear 1–5 female spikes, each nearly cylindrical and generally overlapping with the next, and 3–6 more densely arranged male spikes. Each female spike is long, often with some male flowers at the tip, while male spikes are long. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

s of ''C. riparia'' are utricles, long, with an inflated ovoid shape. They taper to a distinct, bifid beak, which bears three stigmas. ''Carex riparia'' is known to hybridise with a number of other sedge species, including ''Carex acutiformis'' (forming ''Carex × sooi''), '' C. lasiocarpa'' (forming ''C. × evoluta''), '' C. rostrata'' (forming ''C. × beckmanniana''), '' C. vesicaria'' (forming ''C. × csomadensis''), '' C. elata'' and '' C. flacca''.

Horticulture

''Carex riparia'', particularly the

'Variegata', is used as an

in gardens with wet soils.

Notes

References

External links

''Carex riparia''
on the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

's ''Plant Selector''
''Carex riparia'', greater pond sedge

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

Gardener's World ''Gardeners' World'' is a long-running British gardening programme, first broadcast on 5 January 1968. The 2022 series is the 53rd. Its first series was presented by Ken Burras and came from Oxford Botanical Gardens. Up until 2020 most of its e ...

'' {{Taxonbar, from=Q161125

riparia ''Riparia'' is a genus of passerine birds in the swallow family Hirundinidae. These are small or medium-sized swallows, ranging from in length. They are brown above and mainly white below, and all have a dark breast band. They are closely ass ...

Flora of Europe Flora of Asia Plants described in 1783