The culms of Carex spicata are 10–85 centimetres (4–33 in) long and approximately triangular in section.

[1] The ligule, at the base of the leaf, is 4–8 mm (0.16–0.31 in) long, with a large amount of loose white tissue.

[1] C. spicata differs from the other species in Carex section Phaestoglochin by the presence of a purple pigment in the roots, leaf sheaths and bracts.

[1] Carex spicata has a European temperate distribution, although it has been extensively naturalised outside this native range.

[2] Carex spicata was first described by the English botanist William Hudson in his 1762 work Flora Anglica.