Bunched perennial with flowering stems 10-40 inches tall rising well above the narrow leaves which are no more than 1/8 inch wide (B). From 2-5 densely overlapping spikes occur at the tip of the stem with the lowermost one often a little more loosely spaced than the others. Individual spikes are all alike, the female flowers situated above the males, which are usually very inconspicuous. Spikes are circular to broadly oval in shape and rounded at both ends (A,C). The flattened, winged, green perigynia (F) turn tan or brown at maturity (E).
Diverse habitats including moist prairies and woodlands, stream banks, pond margins, ditches and other moist disturbed sites. Troublesome Sedge is uncommon in Fontenelle Forest along Hidden Lake Trail east of blind and on South Stream Trail. At Neale Woods it is uncommon on Gifford Trail where it lies next to the woodlands above it. Flowering occurs in mid-May. The pale green perigynia turn brown in late June.
Troublesome Sedge closely resembles Short-beaked Sedge (Carex brevior). In some individuals the non-technical characters used here overlap, making it impossible to separate them in the field although, typically, Short-beaked Sedge has more loosely grouped spikes, which are tapered at the ends. The flowering stems of both are straight, but the tip of Short-beaked Sedge often is curved at the tip where the spikes are attached. Slender Sedge (Carex tenera) is easier to separate. It has a nodding stem with even more widely spaced spikes than Short-beaked Sedge. Note that another very similar species in this difficult group, Crested Sedge (Carex cristatella), also occurs at Fontenelle Forest where a single specimen was observed next to the Gifford Memorial boardwalk.
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