Hop Sedge (Carex lupulina)
- Family: Sedge (Cyperaceae)
- Flowering: May-September.
- Field Marks: The large, cylindrical female spikes up to 2 1/2 inches long readily distinguish this species.
- Habitat: Wet woods, wet prairies, roadside ditches.
- Habit: Perennial herb with a short rhizome.
- Stems: Erect, smooth, up to 4 feet tall.
- Leaves: Elongated, narrow, longer than the stems, up to 2/3 inch broad.
- Flowers: Male and female borne in separate spikes; the male spike single, slender, up to 3 inches long; female spikes 2-5 per stem, cylindrical, up to 2 1/2 inches long.
- Scales: Lanceolate, pointed or short-awned at tip, shorter than the perigynia.
- Sepals: 0.
- Petals: 0.
- Stamens: 3.
- Pistils: Enclosed in a perigynium; each perigynium ovoid, inflated at the base, abruptly tapering to a narrow beak sharply 2-toothed at the tip, smooth, up to 3/4 inch long.
- Fruits: Achenes triangular, smooth, up to 1/6 inch long.
- Notes: The achenes are eaten by waterfowl.
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