Isolepis cernua Slender Club-rush

A small, densly tufted annual or short-lived perennial sedge which is a pioneer species of bare, moist sandy substrates in dune slacks and sometimes on peaty substrates. It is similar to Bristle Club-rush (Isolepis setacea) but the clusters of spikelets are not (or only shortly) overtopped by the stem-like bract and the brownish seeds have a mat texture without ridges. It has a predominantly coastal distribution in Britain and it is also mostly a coastal species in West Glamorgan, associated largely with dune slacks, but there are also inland populations in ditches at the sides of gravelled forest roads in Neath Port Talbot. It is a Mediterranean-Atlantic species which may be expanding its range in Britain (and West Glamorgan) in response to climate change.

Native