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Tried and True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic
The most ornamental of the woodland sedges, this species, sometimes referred to as Seersucker Sedge, is generally found in rich mountain woodlands.* In the garden it can fill many roles, substituting for popular non-native plants and even tolerating difficult dry shaded sites.
*In the Mid-Atlantic Region, it is native to northern and western PA. In MD, it is found only in Montgomery and Garrett Counties. In VA, it is rare in the Piedmont (except for Fairfax and Loudoun Counties) and infrequent in the mountains.
In botany the spike has nothing to do with shoes, or the tops of fence posts, or a sharp rise in the number of Covid cases, but has a special meaning for plants, among them those in the sedge family.
Lean more about Carex plantaginea and spike…