This simple but effective poem may help you to distinguish sedge from a rush from a grass: “Sedges have edges and rushes are round, grasses are hollow and rush all around.” Another version goes like this, “Sedges have edges, rushes are round, grasses have nodes and willows abound.” Personally I … Grasses. Rushes are round. Rushes are round. Grasses are hollow. Ever heard the ditty “sedges have edges and rushes are round”? Sedges tend to grow in damp ground, often bordering swamps and streams. Sedges vs. Grasses vs. About a quarter of the plants that one encounters at Acadia National Park appear "grass-like." This common rhyme can help you remember the key differences between the Sedge, Rush, and Grass families. SPECIES: GRASSES, RUSHES, AND SEDGES . Sedges have edges, and rushes are round, But grasses have nodes from their tips to the ground. Rushes and sedges are grass-like plants that often grow in or adjacent the seasonally wetter areas in coastal grasslands. We hadn't had more than a few hours rain over the month, so little that, with the heat, high sun, and drying wind, even succulents were bowing to the ground. Common name of sedge comes from the Latin word for sedge (secafre) meaning to cut in reference to the sharp leaf edges. Sedges have edges. Juncus … Most often they are perennials. It all started with a blizzard that pushed us right into excessive heat of summer before May was out. Grasses are usually dominant in coastal prairies and grasslands. The amateur would probably call all of these grasses, but in fact some are sedges and some are rushes. Most sedges have triangular stems ("edges"), except for Scripus, which has round stems. The small flower/seed heads occur at the tips of the stems. While many members of the grass, sedge and rush families provide abundant planting choices, don’t forget to … Here is a little rhyme to help tell the three apart: "sedges have edges, rushes are round, and grasses have joints." Rushes • Sedges: Solid, triangular stems (“sedges have edges”) with some exceptions; leaves 3-ranked; fruit a nutlet subtended by a scale • Grasses: Hollow (between the nodes), round stems; leaves 2- ranked; fruit a grain covered by two papery scales Grasses, Sedges and Rushes all belong to the same plant family, that of Flowering plants (Angiosperms) and so are frequently confused with each other as they often have very similar characteristics. Sedges have edges, rushes are round, grasses have knees that bend to the ground. This is describing the round blades/stems of a rush, each pushing directly from the soil with no branching. Or “Sedges have edges, rushes are round, grasses are hollow, what have you found?” And one more that you might find useful: “Sedges have edges, rushes are round, and grasses have joints.” All of these are meant to offer clues for identification. What have you found?" Sedge ID Terminology •Inflorescences (flowers): •Panicle: multi-branched inflorescence •Spikelet: small spike with reduced Rushes are evergreen, with a texture similar to a grass. A COMPARISON OF GRASSES, SEDGES, AND RUSHES . Carex laxiculmis leaf blade: "Sedges have edges. Adapted from: Budd’s Flora of the Canadian Prairie Provinces, Looman and Best, 1979. The “edges” are there because of the way the leaves meet each other along their edges, while the “round” rushes usually have one leaf sheathing the stem.