​This week we will be looking at a broad group of plants in the genus Carex, commonly referred to as Sedges. 

Sedges are a grass-like plant in the family Cyperaceae. Split down into several genus below that, Carex is the most commonly found genus of Sedge in Illinois with over 2,000 known species around the world, and 193 species described in Robert Mohlenbrock’s Illustrated Flora of Illinois. Carex species are easily confused for grass, especially when the interesting seed heads are not present, but they can always be discerned by remembering the phrase “sedges have edges”. This is because all sedges, and some other genus in the Cyperaceae have triangular stems, though some or more pronounced than others. They usually grow in tufting clumps known as a ‘hummock’ and have favorability to wet areas such as stream banks and wooded wetlands but can also be found on dry sand and hill prairies.  

Beneficial to local wildlife in many ways, Carex species provide forage food for animals and insects grazing on foliage, waterfowl seeking out seeds and seed heads, serve as host species for several caterpillars and other insects, and create nesting areas for small songbirds and mammals.  

Most importantly, sedges can be used in home landscaping with few issues as no known Carex species are invasive. The varied size, shape, colors, attractive inflorescence, and tolerance for varied soil and moisture can be an asset to any home landscape. While many horticultural varieties exist, primarily from Asia, it is best to seek out native varieties that local wildlife can recognize and benefit from.  

Included below are a variety of collected seed heads all found within one small woodland garden, and two species identified in varied habitats. The variety of shape and texture can create visual interest year-round as the plants mature, flower, and change color in the fall.  


Pictured species are as follows: 
​
Photo A:

1. Carex rosea (Rosy Sedge)
2. Carex stipata (Prickly Sedge) 
3. Carex projecta (Necklace Sedge) 
4. Carex normalis (Greater Straw Sedge) 
5. Carex vulpinoidea (Foxtail Sedge) 
6. Carex davisii (Davis’ Sedge) 
7. Carex grayi (Gray’s Sedge) 

Photo B: Carex albursina (White Bear Sedge) in an upland woods 
Photo C: Carex vulpinoidea (Foxtail Sedge) in a flooded wetland 

​This week’s featured plant is Asarum canadense, also known as Wild Ginger!
 
Wild ginger is a low growing ground cover plant in the Aristolochiaceae family of pipevine plants known for their highly unusual flowers. Wild ginger is easily identifiable by its heart-shaped fuzzy leaves that seem to glimmer in sunlight and an unusual looking small red flower that grows out of the leaf base and droops to the ground. Found mostly on dry to slightly moist woodland slopes, this plant can form dense colonies on the forest floor below a traditional open canopy of oak, sycamore, and hickory.
 
There is not a single most interesting aspect of this plant, from the interesting foliage to the unusual flower, wild ginger also serves as a substitute to traditional ginger (Zingiber officinale) from southeast Asia. The fragrant rhizome can be used fresh or dried and ground into a powder to impart flavor into cooking. Just as fascinating is this plant’s approach to reproduction. Unlike many other flowers, A. canadense does not attract pollinators with sweet fragrances and the allure of nectar, but instead chooses to attract beetles and flies using the scent of decaying flesh. This is a trait commonly associated with the gargantuan century plants, often featured in many botanic gardens (Amorphophallus titanium). With beetles as the primary pollinator, this is only one of the reasons the flowers droop to the ground. Once the flower is pollinated, the seeds develop and the pod splits, revealing seeds with a fleshy coating similar to that of species in the Trillium genus. This bit of food is then carried away by ants with the seed still attached, where it will germinate away from the parent plant and begin a new colony of Ginger. 

​Meet our interns for this summer: Jennifer Ray and Samantha Heatherly! They will both be working in ERA's various departments in the office and out in the field throughout the summer. Learn more about them below.

​This week’s plant is Utricularia macrorhiza, or the Common Bladderwort.  

Utricularia is a highly specialized group of plants that can be found across the globe and can range widely in habitat from floating in stagnant bogs, nestled in moss on mountaintops, and climbing trees in rainforest canopies. What sets these plants apart from others is that they have adapted to grow in nutrient-poor environments and have since devised a way to supplement their intake of nitrogen and phosphorous by digesting micro-invertebrates such as nymph-stage insect larva. While there are several insectivorous plants, like Pitcher Plants, Sundews, and the famous Venus Flytrap; Utricularia, or Bladderwort, trap prey using one of many small bladders located along its root structures that have fine hairs surrounding a lidded opening. When a small organism brushes these hairs, the trap springs open with such force that it causes a vacuum, sucking the prey inside and closing the lid. That’s right! This is one of Illinois’ few native insectivorous plants.   

Common Bladderwort can be found throughout Illinois in sunny stagnant water and is normally only observed when the bright yellow flowerheads poke up through the surface in the summer, otherwise it may be confused for pond scum, algae, or other less exciting pond weed. While some species in the Utricularia genus are terrestrial (living on the ground) and some are arboreal (living in trees or rock faces off the ground), this species is fully aquatic. It can be easily separated from other aquatic plants by the round bubbly traps spread among the fine moss-like foliage that float just below the water’s surface.   
​
Here is a link to a video of the trap in action: https://youtu.be/Zb_SLZFsMyQ?t=50