(Image Courtesy of Mt. Cuba Center) A cool season sedge, Carex sprengelii begins its growth early in the spring, forming dense clumps of broad, arching, glossy green foliage. Flowering follows in early April with attractive bristly bottle-brush inflorescences that quickly give way to wheat-like fruit, which is an important food source for songbirds. Preferring consistent soil moisture, Long-Beaked Sedge functions well as an attractive grassy groundcover and can also be used to naturalize damp areas and provide erosion control.