Sedges of Indiana

 

 

Introduction

Photo Gallery

Biogeography

Species Checklist

 

 

    

Although sedges bear a superficial resemblance to grasses, in truth they belong to a distinct plant family - the Cyperaceae. Sedges can be found throughout the world, but mostly grow in damp, wet, or marshy habitats in the temperate and subarctic zones. The family includes the very large genus Carex (which gives its common name - sedge - to the family). There are approximately 100 species of Carex in Indiana. In addition, the family has another 79 species in a variety of small to large genera.

We hope that this website will highlight the wonderful diversity of form seen in the sedge family, describe some of its value to humans, and provide some tools for learning about and enjoying sedges in the Indiana flora. Each link below will facilitate a better understanding of sedges.

If you want to learn more about the plants on this website, watch for the volume "Sedges of Indiana: Pictorial Guide to Bulrushes, Spike Rushes, and Their Relatives" by Paul Rothrock, soon to be published by the Indiana Academy of Science, Indianapolis.

Policy Statement:  Anyone wishing to use plant images on this website for instruction is welcome to do so with the following conditions: They may not be used in a distributed work without written permission from the Department of Earth and Environmental Science at Taylor University.  Contact Dr. P. E. Rothrock.  This means the images may not be copied and added to other web pages accessible on the world wide web without permission.  Direct links to our images, however, are welcome.  Images may be freely copied by educators for their courses only where distribution is limited to the site of use. 

    


Thanks to Melissa Werner ’05 for extensive help in creation of this website.

Taylor University Earth and Environmental Science Department