Carex alba

Carex alba, called the small white sedge, white-flowered sedge or just white sedge (a name it shares with other members of its genus), is a species of sedge in the family Cyperaceae.^[2] It is typically found in temperate forests of Eurasia, from the Pyrenees to the Russian Far East.^[1] It is the main host plant for the woodland brown butterfly, Lopinga achine.^[3]

Carex alba
Habit
Botanical illustration
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Poales
Family:	Cyperaceae
Genus:	Carex
Species:	C. alba
Binomial name
Carex alba Scop.
Synonyms[1]
List Carex ajanensis Vorosch. Carex alba f. aprica Kük. Carex argentea J.F.Gmel. Carex argentea Vill. Carex duerrnbergeri Ritzb. Carex inclusa Turcz. ex Boott Carex nemorosa Schrank

Description

Carex alba is a species of sedge, typically growing in thick clumps between 15–30 cm (5.9–11.8 in) in height. Stems are slender, trigonous, smooth; with sheaths that are leafless at the base. Leaves are shorter than the stem, and flat-bladed. Bracts are greenish-brown and sheathlike. Flowers take the form of terminal spikes, and are white in colour. Nutlets are dark brown, obovate-elliptic, trigonous. Flowers and fruits in June to July.^[4]

Distribution and habitat

Carex alba favours dry, wooded areas,^[5] temperate pine forests and slopes.^[6]