What’s the Difference Between Grass and Sedge? What’s the difference between grasses and sedges? in terms of anatomy and classification.

## Short answer

Sedges have edges, and they're in different families.

See Minnesota Wildflowers for a great summary with images.

## Long answer

Both are in the order Poales, but they are in different families:

* Grasses = **Poaceae** (of the graminid clade)

* Sedges = **Cyperaceae** (of the [non-monophyletic]1 cypirid lineage)




**Some anatomical differences** :

![enter image description here](

Compiled using info from here and here

![enter image description here](

Source: New York Botanical Garden

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Citations

1\. Bouchenak-Khelladi, Y., Muasya, A.M. and Linder, H.P., 2014. A revised evolutionary history of Poales: origins and diversification. _Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society_ , 175(1):4-16.