Family: sedges (Cyperaceae)
Flowering time: May–June
Size: 15–30 cm
Habitat: forests, forest edges and shrubby areas
White sedge (Carex alba) is a delicate plant with long, thin rhizomes (underground side shoots). Its light-green leaves are long and thin, 1 to 1.5 mm wide. At the top of the inflorescence is a pedunculated male spikelet, beneath it 1 to 3, spaced apart, female spikelets. The tip of the upper female spikelet exceeds the tip of the male. The female spikelets are few-flowered, consisting of 3 to 6 flowers. Mature achenes (fruits) are black, bare and glossy. During flowering the entire inflorescence is whitish, hence the name white sedge. The pistil has three grooves.
White sedge grows on moderately nutrient-rich, humus-rich soils on a base-rich substrate. It thrives in partial shade on moderately warm locations. In Slovenia it is distributed in mountainous regions, lacking in the southwest and northeast of the country.
