This is a plant of acid bogs which would be likely to find Drosera species as companions - exactly the plants we found growing nearby. When young the flowerheads are distinctly whitish and rarely have a bract which exceeds the rather globular flower head while the rarer Rhynchospora fusca (Brown Beak-sedge) typically has a bract distinctly overtopping the the flower head

As you would expect there is little of this plant to be found in the more basic soils of central and south east England but it can be found in the acidic parts of Cornwall. It tends to have a western distribution with plenty near coastal Wales, Lancashire and much of Scotland but there is little on the eastern side of mainland Britain. In Ireland it is quite common but still tends to be commonest towards the west.

Near Godlingston Heath, Dorset 9th May 2010

Added on 1st March 2012