Lustrous sedge
Scientific name: Carex liparocarpos Gaudin
Family: Cyperaceae
MORPHOLOGY
Habit and size: perennial herbaceous plant, between 10 and 30 centimeters tall.
Stem: stiff, tending to be smooth and sometimes reddened at the base.
Leaves: slightly keeled and rough at the margins in the upper half of the lamina.
Flowers: appear between March and May in male and female spike-shaped inflorescences. The petals of the individual flowers are reddish in color.
Fruits and seeds: suberect and ovoid, smooth and initially green and later shiny brown.
DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT
A widespread species from Siberia to southern Europe, present in the northern and central regions of the Italian peninsula. It grows in dry meadows, from sea level to the mountain belt, in soils poor in organic matter.
USE
No know use.
CURIOSITY
The generic name derives from the Greek ‘keìro’ (= to cut), due to the sharp leaf margin of some species, while the specific name also derives from the Greek ‘liparos’ (= oily, shiny) and ‘karpós’ (= fruit), as the plant produces shiny fruit.
Photo: under free license from INaturalist – Сергей, Sandro Bogdanović and Andreas Berger
