Common name: Dewey sedge
Scientific name: Carex deweyana
Plant family: Cyperaceae
Habitat and Range:
Carex deweyana prefers wet meadows, swamps, and swales. It ranges from the West Coast to central United States and central Canada.
Historical and Contemporary Uses: Carex deweyana is commonly used in landscaping, particularly in low, wet areas such as contructed wetlands, rain gardens, and swales that collect urban runoff. They are used to filter water in swales that are along streets so that water coming through the drains are slowed down which allows for the impurities that are in the water to percolate into the soil so that it doesn’t flow back into the water system.[2],[3]
[1] Pojar, Jim, Andrew MacKinnon, and Paul B. Alaback. Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast, Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Alaska. Lone Pine Pub, 1994.
