Carex muricata subsp. pairae Prickly Sedge

A sedge of roadside banks, heathy grassland and dry acid soils. It is very similar to Spiked Sedge (Carex spicata) and Grey Sedge (Carex divulsa) which are usually found in less acidic habitats. Although it is widespread and not uncommon in many parts of Wales, it seems to be less common in south Wales and there are few records from West Glamorgan apart from Gower and forest roadside verges in Neath Port Talbot. It may be overlooked, under-recorded and confused with Spiked Sedge (Carex spicata), which it resembles, but differs from it in its shorter, rounded ligule and different shaped utricles which diverge at a wide angle at maturity giving the spikelets a starry appearance, somwhat like Starry Sedge (Carex echinata). In some European texts it is referred to as Carex pairae F.W. Schulz. The other subspecies of Prickly Sedge that is found in Britain, Carex muricata subsp. muricata, is much rarer in Wales and has not been recorded in West Glamorgan. The Carex muricata complex presents some difficult identification problems for field recorders and the possibility of hybridisation within this group adds further challenges.

Native