About Carex virgata Sol. ex Hook.f., 1853
Carex virgata Sol. ex Hook.f., 1853 (synonymised with Carex appressa here) is a densely tufted perennial sedge. It forms clumps up to 50 cm (20 in) in diameter, with hard, solid stems that reach around 100 cm (39 in) in height and become rough toward the top. Its leaves are 3–6 mm (0.12–0.24 in) wide, rough along the margins, and grow mostly from the base of the plant. It produces a brownish, spike-like inflorescence 5–25 cm (2.0–9.8 in) long, which is made up of 20 or more individual spikes. The plant bears numerous oval-shaped, brownish spikelets approximately 5 mm (0.20 in) long; both male and female flowers are mixed together within these spikes. The seed nut is held inside a flattened, oval-shaped, beaked, hairless sac called a utricle, which measures 3–3.5 mm (0.12–0.14 in) long. This sedge grows in swamps, watercourses, and occasionally in standing water. It acts as a larval food plant for the butterfly Heteronympha cordace.
