Snow White Sedge

Snow White Sedge is a slender perennial herb of rock crevices and road sides, growing up to 10-30 cm tall. Stem is about 1 mm in diameter, smooth, grey-green, upper part trigonous, lower part almost cylindrical, base swollen. Leaves are narrow, grass-like nearly as long at the stem, somewhat cruved. Flowers consist of a single spherical group of 4-10 stalkless spikes, 1.5-3.5 cm across, white or yellow-brow. There are 2-3 leaf-like bracts, up to 6 cm long, channelled or folded, rough. Spikes 1-2 cm long, up to 5 mm wide, narrowly ovoid, compressed. Stamens are 3, with anthers 1.5 mm. Nut is about 1.7 mm, obovoid, trigonous, dark brown or almost black, shiny. Snow White Sedge is found throughout the Himalayas, at altitudes of 600-2900 m. Flowering: April-June.