Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Poales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/10/25):
Carex grayi
FAMILY
Cyperaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Gray's Sedge at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Carex grayi
FAMILY
Cyperaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Carex grayi
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 23 (2002)
Carex grayi
SYNONYMOUS WITH (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT) Aquatic & Wetland Plants of Southeastern US (Godfrey & Wooten, 1979 & 1981)
Carex grayii
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 030-17-117:
Carex grayi FAMILY Cyperaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT) Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Carex grayii
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Carex asa-grayi
COMMON NAME:
Gray's Sedge
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_caas8_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_cagr5_002_lvd
)
Tim Spira tps_cgrayi
May
Leaves 1/4-1/2" wide. Fruits clustered in a 1" spiky-looking ball, per Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/10/25):
Carex grayi
FAMILY
Cyperaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Carex grayi
FAMILY
Cyperaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Carex grayi
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 23
Carex grayi
SYNONYMOUS WITH (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT)
Aquatic & Wetland Plants of Southeastern US (Godfrey & Wooten, 1979 & 1981)
Carex grayii
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 030-17-117:
Carex grayi
FAMILY
Cyperaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT)
Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Carex grayii
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Carex asa-grayi
2867
Grass, Sedge, or Rush
Perennial
Monoecious
Habitat: Bottomland forests, tidal swamps, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Carolina Coastal Plain, uncommon in Carolina Piedmont (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Semi-evergreen
Simple
Basal? Alternate, 3-ranked?
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Perianth absent
3 stamens
Superior ovary
Unisexual
Inflorescences: spikes (terminal spike staminate; 1-2 lateral spikes pistillate)
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Nutlet
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".