Sedges Have Edges

If you take a walk through the woods right now and look close to the ground you'll see tiny, chaotic puffs of creamy yellow at or near the top of what looks like blades of bunchgrass. But they aren't bunchgrass – they are sedge plants.

Sedge flowers don't have showy petals so if you move too fast you'll miss them. But go slowly and use a magnifying glass or hand lens and you'll see that those puffs are made up of stamens coated with yellow pollen (the male part of a flower) and clear white pistils (the female part of a flower). They are the real thing and are all about getting pollinated! The...