The Cutting Tuft of Pathways

Habit: Perennial herb 20–60 cm tall, forming dense tufts up to 30 cm across, supported by a short, robust rhizome. Stem: Slender, sharply triangular and rough in the upper part. Leaves: Flat blades 2–4 mm wide, about half as long as the stem, with slightly cutting margins. Ligule triangular, 2–3.5 mm long; basal sheaths brownish and fibrous. Flowers: Arranged in a simple oblong inflorescence, 1–3.5 cm long, composed of 3–8 grouped sessile spikes. The spikes are heterogamous, with female flowers at the base and male flowers at the apex, becoming star-like at maturity because of the fruit arrangement. Fruits: Elliptic utricles, glossy, varying from yellow-green to blackish brown, ending in a bifid beak and enclosing a biconvex achene with two persistent stigmas. Flowering: April–June.

Chorological type: Eurasian. Distribution in Italy: Present in all regions of mainland Italy. Habitat: It prefers fresh soils, often clayey, and is frequently found in hedges, coppices, roadside margins and ruderal places near walls, from sea level up to 1500 m above sea level.

Generic name (Carex): Derived from the classical Latin carex. The Greek etymology is linked to keiro, “I cut”, referring to the leaf margin, which is rich in silica and denticulate, often making it sharp to the touch. Specific name (pairae): In honour of Michel Paira (1823–1879), the Alsatian botanist who devoted his studies to the systematics of the Carex contigua group.

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Although to an inexperienced eye it may resemble a grass, Paira’s sedge shows the defining characters of the Cyperaceae: the stem is not hollow but solid and clearly triangular in cross-section; the flowers are unisexual and lack showy petals, with the ovary enclosed in a special sac-like structure called the utricle. This structure is fundamental in the classification of the hundreds of species belonging to the genus Carex.