Carex gholsonii facts for kids

Carex gholsonii is a type of plant found in the southeastern United States. It grows naturally in states like Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, and South Carolina. This plant is a member of the sedge family, which often looks like grass but has different features.

What is Carex gholsonii?

Carex gholsonii is a special kind of plant known as a perennial herb. This means it lives for more than two years and has soft, green stems instead of woody ones like trees. It can grow quite tall, reaching up to about 75 centimeters (about 2.5 feet) high.

Where Does It Live?

This plant loves wet places! You can often find Carex gholsonii growing in marshes, which are wet grasslands. It also thrives in floodplains, which are flat areas next to rivers that sometimes get flooded. Stream banks are another favorite spot for this plant. It needs a lot of water to grow well.

What Does It Look Like?

Carex gholsonii has long, green leaves that can be up to 30 centimeters (about 1 foot) long. Its flowers are quite interesting. Unlike some plants that have separate male and female plants, Carex gholsonii is a monoecious plant. This means it has both male and female flowers on the same plant.

The male flowers, called staminate flowers, and the female flowers, called pistillate flowers, grow in separate clusters. These clusters are shaped like spikes and are found on different parts of the same plant.

After the female flowers are pollinated, they develop small, dry fruits called achenes. These achenes are protected inside a sac-like structure called a perigynium. The perigynia are usually olive green to brownish and are shaped like a small oval, about 4 millimeters long.