Coast Sword-sedge

Scientific Name: Lepidosperma gladiatum

Description: With sharp sword-like leaves, this tufting sedge prefers swales in stable, well vegetated dunes. Its fruit is pale brown and smooth when fertile or dark brown and wrinkled when not. It has broad scales below the nut. Coast Sword-sedge is a robust sedge that can withstand salt winds and dry conditions and thrives on the ocean edges of sand dunes. The whole leaves are a traditional resource used by the Wadawurrung for basket-making.

Plant form: Grasses and allies
Where to find: Across the entire Bluff
Foliage: Has sharp, sword-like leaves with a prominent central rib and stems convex on both faces
Flower: Large, dense flower head with pale brown spike-lets
Flowering: spring – summer