The spike rushes need careful examination before venturing an identification because they have very few distinctive features. This one is tufted and has a flowering spike on the end of a thin green filament about 10 to 20 cm tall but so do some other spike rushes. This was, fortunately for me, identified by our expert botanist guide on a WFS trip to Teesdale. "Few-flowered" may be its name but this plant had more than 20 spikes so if you didn't know you'd expect it to be called Many-flowered Spike-rush.

E. quinqueflora is often found in Wales, Ireland and throughout Scotland but is scarcer in England.

Near Cronkly Bridge, Teesdale, 22nd June 2005

Added 10th July 2005, updated 25th December 2008, updated 29th March 2010