Many small sedges look very similar at first glance but this one is fairly distinct with the fruits gathered in a bunch at the end of the stem around the base of the male flower. It is a smallish plant and in the damp grassland where it grows it can easily be overlooked.

It is actually a very common sedge having been recorded almost everywhere in Scotland and only absent in a few places in eastern England and central Ireland.

Field near Darwen, Lancashire 7th June 2007

Added on 15th June 2007, updated 25th November 2008, updated 11th March 2010