'Look-alikes'

In calcareous or other mineral-flushed sites, you may find Few-flowered Spike-rush ⇒Eleocharis quinqueflora looking like a small deergrass.

The deergrasses have a short blade to the upper leaf-sheath, completely lacking in spike-rushes.

Deergrasses usually have far more stems, and far more densely tufted tussocks.


leaf-blade on upper leaf-sheath of deergrass


newly-emerged Eleocharis quinqueflora; note lack of leaf-blades


Dioecious Sedge Carex dioica (below, right) can also look similar, but the stem-leaves have obvious long leaf-blades.


 (five stems on left) Eleocharis quinqueflora;
(four stems on right) male and female Carex dioica


Any other look-alikes I should mention?

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