Grasses, Sedges & Rushes

Throw up your hands in horror! Grasses and grass-like plants instil a feeling of terror in many people, but in reality many of them are not that difficult to identify. Part of the problem is unfamiliarity, coupled with the fact that there are an awful lot of inadequate books on the subject. This section by no means covers all the species in Cape May county as yet, but will be added to as new photos are taken. For now at least, you will find pretty much all the common species, including the introduced, European species that abound here.

Under the catch-all title of grass-like plants, you will find all the sedges, rushes and other related plants which, by and large, tend to occur in wetland habitats.

Unlike the other sections that start with flower color, this group starts with the overall impression of the flowering spike. Inevitably, some species are hard to categorize and the section labelled as 'spikey plants' is something of an odd-ball collection of species that don't fit anywhere else. If in doubt, try several sections and gradually narrow down your search. Note that some grass species, most notably bamboos, flower rarely so you might try the 'no flowers' section below.

If you still can't find your plant, you either have something very interesting that you may wish to tell us about, or we just haven't got a picture of it yet - we're still working on the latter!!

Click on the pictures below to go to the species pages.

No Flowers


bamboos	Bulbous Meadow-grass	Japanese Stilt-grass

Six Petals

Heath Wood-rush

Flowers in short, terminal cluster


spikerushes	spikerushes

Flowers in tight heads of tight clusters


umbrella-sedges	bulrushes	rushes	cotton-grasses

Rough Dog's-tail	Annual Beard-grass	spike-sedges

Marsh Spike-grass	Sweet Vernal-grass	sedges	sedges

Flowers in spikey clusters


flat-sedges	bur-grasses	sedges	sedges

finger-grasses	Forked Beard-grass	sedges	Trifid Flat-sedge

rye-grasses	Slender Spike-grass	Bulbous Meadow-grass	beard-grasses

threeawns	oat-grasses	Common Couch	squirrel-tail fescues

nut-rushes

Flowers in open heads of tight clusters


rushes	Wool-grass	beak-sedges	rushes

Annual Cut-grass	love-grasses	Yorkshire-fog	meadow-grasses

Reflexed Saltmarsh-grass	bromes	bromes	bromes

Cock's-foot	cockspur-grasses	Great Millet	sedges

sedges	cord-grasses	bulrushes	Globe Flat-sedge

Black Spear-grass	woodland grasses	fescues

Flowers in loose, open heads


Annual Wild-rice	Weeping Love-grass	Northern Sweet-grass	Switch-grass

feathergrasses	feathergrasses	feathergrasses	Purpletop

Silver Hair-grass	Wild-oat	Diffuse Crab-grass	Purple Lovegrass

rushes	Wavy Hair-grass	panic-grasses

Wavy Hair-grass	bents

Narrow spikes of dense flowers


cattails	bristle-grasses	Nodding Bristle-grass	barleys

cord-grasses	American Beach-grass	Yorkshire-fog	fescues

Nimble-will	Rat's-tail Fescue	Timothy	sedges

sedges	swampgrasses	Wrinkled Joint-grass	Prairie Wedgescale

Smut-grass	Manilagrass

Cape May Plants An Identification Guide

Grasses, Sedges & Rushes

Species List

Cape May Plants
An Identification Guide