Grasses, Sedges, and Rushes: Identifying Common Species

Grasses, sedges, and rushes are often overshadowed by their more colourful and showy counterparts among flowering plants. However, upon closer inspection, they reveal interesting features and unique beauty. Since these groups make up nearly a third of the British flora, overlooking them results in missing a significant portion of the plant diversity in the UK.

Grasses, sedges, and rushes can also tell us a lot about the habitats in which they are found. This makes the ability to correctly identify them essential for ecologists completing habitat surveys, such as UKHab and NVC. Getting to know grasses, sedges, and rushes also opens up a new and exciting world for enthusiasts who want to expand their botanical knowledge.

By the end of the course, you will be able to: 

• Recognise and identify key features of grasses, sedges, and rushes that can help with identification.
• Identify 5-10 common species of grasses and 5 common species of both rush and sedge.
• Understand what common grass, sedge, and rush species can tell us about the habitat in which they are found.

Who Should Attend? – Nature enthusiasts, students, rangers, early career consultants and ecologists. Ability to identify grasses, sedges, and rushes is essential for completing habitat surveys such as UKHab.

Knowledge Level – Beginner. Level descriptors can be found on the following web-page: Framework and Course Level Descriptors 

Prior Knowledge – No existing knowledge or experience is needed for this course, just a willingness to explore and learn. Some existing knowledge of general botany would be useful, but not essential.

PLEASE NOTE: There is no accommodation or meal facilities provided with this course. Refreshments (tea and coffee) will be available. If we are unable to reach viable numbers for this course, we will inform you of the course cancellation 4-5 weeks prior to the course run. We would recommend when purchasing accommodation and/or travel you should take out your own insurance.

Bookings will close if course capacity is reached. 

Please email [email protected] if you have any questions.

Fiona Gomersall

Fiona Gomersall is a trained biology teacher and skilled field botanist. She is Conservation Officer at Shropshire Wildlife Trust and is an active member of the Shropshire Botanical Society. Fiona’s monitoring and botanical survey work takes her all over the county to the 40 nature reserves and several hundred local wildlife sites.

Timings for this course may vary, so please check the start and end times of the different course runs at the bottom of the page. Please arrive in time for the course to start promptly.

This course will involve both classroom learning and field excursions to cover all of the learning objectives.

Lunch is not included so please bring your own food. Refreshments (tea and coffee) will be provided.

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  Expert Tuition

The course has been carefully created by expert tutors and educators to help you build your knowledge and apply it within the field surrounded by like-minded individuals.

The course includes:

• Classroom learning covering the theory of the topic
• Field excursions to apply new knowledge
• Expert tuition for which the Field Studies Council is renowned
• Clear objectives and progression
• Refreshments (tea/coffee)

You can rest assured that the absolute best content from an expert in environmental education will be provided. In choosing a Field Studies Council course, you will be joining thousands of people who learn with us each year.

Student Discount

This course is eligible for a student discount. If you are a current student, please use discount code BioStudent20 at checkout for 20% off all Biodiversity courses.

Natural History Bursaries

There are a number of natural history bursaries available to help with the cost of your course. To find out if you and your chosen course are eligible, read more here.

What to Bring

• Notebook and pencil
• Lunch and refreshments
• Sensible footwear and clothing for being outdoors
• Small bag to carry personal items
• Your preferred wildflower guide that includes grasses, sedges, and rushes (if you have one)

Recommended Literature

• Common Grasses WIldID Guide 
• Rushes WildID Guide

If you want to take your learning further, you might also be interested in the Grasses AIDGAP, which gives vegetative characteristics of 90 most commonly found grass species.

There will be a member of staff with first aid training and access to a first aid kit on site. If you have special medical or access requirements, please let us know as soon as possible so we can plan the course.