Family: sedges (Cyperaceae)
Flowering time: June–September
Size: 20–50 cm
Habitat: wet meadows, swamps, low bogs and headwaters
Scaly-fruited sedge (Carex lepidocarpa) forms small, dense or loose tufts. Lateral subterranean shoots (rhizomes) are not developed. Erect, slender, light to yellow-green leaves are 2 to 3 mm wide. The inflorescence bract is horizontal to upright. The entire inflorescence is 5 to 10 cm long. At the top is a distinctly stalked male spike, below it usually 1 or 2 female spikes, spaced apart from one another. The female spikes are 7 to 15 mm long and 7 to 10 mm wide. The male spike is 10 to 25 mm long and 2 to 3 mm wide. At the tip of the glumes (fruits) there is a two-toothed beak, 1.5 to 2 mm long. This beak is especially on the middle and lower fruits in the spike noticeably curved to the side. The pistil has 3 grooves.
Scaly-fruited sedge thrives on permanently waterlogged soils in cooler, sun-exposed places. Except for the southwestern and northeastern parts, it is widespread throughout Slovenia.
