JBCLM | 2010-2026

Great-Fen Sedge beds are plant formations that grow along the edges of permanently flooded ponds. They are dominated by the Great Fen-sedge (Cladium mariscus), a rhizomatous plant that is highly demanding in terms of water levels, which must always remain high for the plant to thrive optimally. Currently, these formations are greatly reduced due to the degradation of wetlands, despite being important habitats for numerous aquatic species. For this reason, reed beds are considered priority habitats under Directive 92/43/EEC. The great fen-sedge requires constant moisture in its rhizomes. If water levels fall and the soil dries out for prolonged periods, the sedge gradually dies, often being replaced by common reed (Phragmites australis), a less demanding species with somewhat invasive tendencies.

In the Botanic Garden of Castilla-La Mancha, a reed bed from the Tablas de Daimiel (the largest in western Europe) has been recreated, accompanied by a complex of small endorheic freshwater ponds, spatially arranged according to the quantity of water and the duration of its presence in each unit. Within these ponds, around twenty hydrophilous and semi-hydrophilous species can be found, including common reed, club-rush (Scirpus holoschoenus), other rush species (Juncus effusus, J. acutus), bulrush (Typha domingensis), several mint species (Mentha longifolia, Mentha aquatica), yellow flag iris (Iris pseudacorus), gypsywort (Lycopus europaeus), meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria), loosestrife (Lysimachia vulgaris), willowherb (Epilobium hirsutum) and purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria). There is also a grass similar to common reed, but less robust, Phalaris aquatica.

Alongside the pond, in the tree layer, tamarisks (Tamarix gallica and T. boveana) appear, depending on their tolerance to salinity, in the transition to the brackish pond of the adjacent collection.