This clumping, shade-loving herbaceous perennial is one of the most ornamental native sedges and is an attractive and deer-resistant alternative to hostas. Like the popular cotton fabric that bears the same name, seersucker sedge's long, chartreuse leaves are lightly puckered, adding delicate, lush texture to shade gardens, woodlands, or edges of ponds. As an added bonus, the leaves are semi-evergreen through winter. Seersucker sedge flourishes in light shade and rich, moist soils; however, it tolerates clay, sandy, or rocky soils and even manages to tough it out in dry, shady areas.
Seersucker sedge slowly colonizes to form a ground cover from short rhizomes and by producing occasional seedlings. In early spring, fluffy, purplish-brown flower spikes sit at the ends of burgundy-colored stalks. Lower on the stalks are wispy female flowers, which are perfectly situated to be wind pollinated by the topmost male blooms. Sedges require little maintenance when sited in the right conditions. Dead leaves can be removed by hand or by raking. The clumps can also be cut to the ground during late winter before new growth appears in mid-April, and they may be lifted and divided any time during the active growing season.
Seersucker sedge is found throughout eastern North America. While not listed as endangered in Ohio, Andrew Lane Gibson (The Buckeye Botanist) says this species is uncommon, only being found in a few counties in the northeast, a few in the southeast, and a couple in the west-central section. The genus name from Latin means "cutter" in reference to the sharp leaves and stem edges ("rushes are round but sedges have edges") found on most species' plants. The species epithet, Plantaginea, notes the resemblance of this sedge to the plantain and is formed from the genus name for plantain, Plantago. Two additional common names (broad-leaved sedge and plantainleaf sedge) allude to the unusual width of the sedge's leaves.
Native habitats include rich woodlands, woodland slopes, and ravines. Striking when used as an edger or accent or when massed with creeping phlox, foamflower, and American alumroot.
Plant Characteristics:
Grows 6 - 24" tall and 10 - 12" wide.
Grows in part or full shade. Does not tolerate full sun.
Prefers acidic, average to moist, well-drained soils. Tolerates rocky, clay, and alkaline soils and occasional drought/drier conditions.
Flowers bloom in early to mid-spring on the tips of 1-2' culms (stalks). A staminate (male) flower is at the tip, and 2-4 pistillate (female) erect to ascending spikelets are widely spaced along each culm. Long, ovoid, and 3-angled achene has a short beak at its apex that is straight or curving outward, while at the base it has a short stipe (basal beak).
The widely-spreading-to-ascending, hairless basal leaves are up to 12" long and 1¼" wide. The upper surface has a prominent midrib and 2 conspicuous lateral veins; a cross-section looks like the letter "M." Tubular, reddish-purple leaves form a tight sheath around the flower stalk.
The fibrous root system has short rhizomes and is relatively shallow; it can be dug up easily.
Wildlife Value:
This plant supports larvae of certain satyrine butterflies (Nymphalidae-Satyrinae). Birds and small mammals consume the achenes and use the plants for cover.
Grow this sedge in a shaded woodland garden, native, wildlife or rock garden. The texture of the leaves would make this species an interesting addition to a sensory garden or a pond margin. It can be grown as a ground cover, accent, or border plant.
Resources:
The Buckeye Botanist
https://floraofohio.blogspot.com/2011/04/couple-cool-carex.html
Illinois Wildflowers
https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/grasses/plants/plantain_sedge.htm
Master Gardeners of Northern VA
Missouri Botanical Garden
North Carolina Extension
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/carex-plantaginea/
PBS Michiana
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJ--a_WNljI
