Field Guide to 

Intermountain Sedges 

Emerenciana G. Hurd

Nancy L. Shaw

Joy Mastrogiuseppe

Lynda C. Smithman

Sherel Goodrich

United States Department of Agriculture

Forest Rocky Mountain General Technical Report June 1998

Service Research Station RMRS-GTR-10 Approved for reprinting August 2016
The Authors

Emerenciana G. Hurd is a Botanist 

with the Rocky Mountain Research 

Station, Riparian-Stream Ecosystems 

Research Work Unit at the Forestry 

Sciences Laboratory in Boise, ID. 

Originally from the Philippines, she 

holds a B.S. degree in biology from 

Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA 

and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in botany from Northern Arizona University.

Nancy L. Shaw is a Botanist with the 

Rocky Mountain Research Station 

at the Forestry Sciences Laboratory 

in Boise, ID. She completed a B.S. 

degree in zoology at the College of 

Idaho, an M.S. degree in botany at 

Idaho State University, and a Ph.D. 

degree in crop science at Oregon 

State University.

Joy Mastrogiuseppe is a Botanist 

focusing her studies on the genus 

Carex. She was Curator of the Marion 

Ownbey Herbarium, Washington 

State University, Pullman, until 1993 

and is currently Curator of the Museum and resident Ethnobotanist 

for the Department of Anthropology, 

Washington State University. She 

is also associated with the Ochoco 

National Forest where she does 

botanical work in south-central and 

southeastern Oregon.

Lynda C. Smithman is a Biological 

Technician-Plants with the Rocky 

Mountain Research Station at the 

Forestry Sciences Laboratory in Boise, ID. She received a B.A. degree in 

history from the University of Arizona 

and has completed post-graduate 

courses in botany from the College 

of Idaho. She has had extensive 

experience as a botanical consultant 

to both private industry and public 

agencies in southern Idaho and 

eastern Oregon.

Sherel Goodrich is Range Conservationist for the Ashley National 

Forest, Vernal, UT. He received a 

B.S. degree in range management 

from Utah State University in 1971 

and an M.S. degree in botany from 

Brigham Young University in 1981. 

He worked extensively in Utah and 

central Nevada when he was with the 

Rocky Mountain Research Station, 

Provo, UT.

Acknowledgments

Many individuals were involved in 

development of this field guide from 

its conception through field collection, 

curation, manuscript preparation, 

review, and editing. A special thanks 

to Warren Clary, Project Leader of 

the Rocky Mountain Research StaFront cover art: Carex nebrascensis, drawn by Lenora Oosterhuis, an 

emigrant from Holland, a Forest Ecologist, and a freelance Biological Artist 

living in Boise, ID.

All Rocky Mountain Research Station publications are produced by U.S. Forest Service employees and are in the 

public domain and available at no cost. Even though U.S. Forest Service publications are not copyrighted, they are 

formatted according to U.S. Department of Agriculture standards and research findings and formatting cannot be 

altered in reprints. Altering content or formatting, including the cover and title page, is strictly prohibited.

As of the second printing, all of the authors are now retired.
tion’s Riparian-Stream Ecosystems 

Research Work Unit, for suggesting 

the idea of preparing field guides for 

grasslike species of the Intermountain Region. For assistance in field 

collections, our appreciation goes to 

Gary Hurd for his willingness to visit 

remote mountainous terrain in search 

of uncommon high-elevation species; 

to Kenneth Gentz, Toiyabe National 

Forest, for his help with Nevada 

collections; to Martin Stein, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, and 

Joe Duft of Boise, ID, for providing 

specimens; and to Richard Whitkus, 

University of California, Riverside, 

for his taxonomic assistance. Our 

thanks to Don Mansfield, Albertson 

College; Stewart Markow, Targhee 

National Forest; Leila Shultz, Utah 

State University; and Caryl Elzinga, 

a private consultant, of Salmon, ID, 

for reviewing the manuscript. For 

help with field collections, curation, 

and manuscript preparation, we 

extend thanks to Bobbi Fuller, Ruth 

Meerkatz, Danielle Scholten, and 

Kristie Worth. For final editing and 

helpful suggestions along the way, 

we thank the Rocky Mountain Station 

Research Information staff.

Contents

Page

Introduction.................................... 1

References .................................... 2

Morphology.................................... 3

General Description: Carex L. ....... 3

Key to Intermountain 

Carex Species ........................... 17

Species Descriptions................... 33

 Carex abrupta .......................... 35

 C. aenea .................................. 37

 C. albonigra ............................. 39

 C. alma .................................... 41

 C. amplifolia ............................. 43

 C. angustata ............................ 45

 C. aquatilis ............................. 47

 C. arapahoensis ...................... 49

 C. arcta .................................... 51

 C. atherodes ............................ 53

 C. athrostachya ....................... 55

C. atrata ................................ 131

 C. atrosquama ......................... 57

 C. aurea ................................... 59

 C. backii ................................... 61

 C. bebbii .................................. 63

 C. bella .................................... 65

 C. bipartita ............................... 67

 C. bolanderi ............................. 91

 C. brevior ................................. 69

 C. breweri var. paddoensis ...... 71

 C. brunnescens ....................... 73

Page

 C. buxbaumii ........................... 75

 C. canescens ........................... 77

 C. capillaris .............................. 79

 C. capitata ............................... 81

 C. concinnoides ....................... 83

 C. crawei ................................. 85

 C. crawfordii ............................ 87

 C. cusickii ................................ 89

 C. deweyana ........................... 91

 C. diandra ................................ 93

 C. dioica .................................. 95

 C. disperma ............................. 97

 C. douglasii ............................. 99

 C. ebenea .............................. 101

 C. echinata ............................ 103

 C. egglestonii ......................... 105

 C. eleocharis ......................... 107

 C. elynoides ........................... 109

 C. engelmannii ........................ 71

 C. eurycarpa ............................ 45

 C. exserta ...............................111

	 	C. filifolia ................................ 113

	 	C. filifolia var. erostrata ...........111

	 	C. fissuricola .......................... 279

	 	C. flava ................................. 115

 C. foetida .............................. 117

 C. foetida var. vernacula ....... 117

 C. fracta ................................. 119

 C. fuliginosa var. misandra .... 121
 C. garberi ................................ 59

 C. geophila ............................ 123

 C. geyeri ................................ 125

 C. gynocrates .......................... 95

 C. hassei ................................. 59

 C. haydeniana ....................... 127

 C. helleri ................................ 129

 C. hepburnii ........................... 171

 C. heteroneura ...................... 131

 C. hoodii ................................ 133

 C. hystricina ........................... 135

 C. illota .................................. 137

 C. interior .............................. 139

 C. jepsonii ............................. 259

 C. jonesii ................................ 141

 C. lanuginosa ........................ 143

 C. lasiocarpa ......................... 145

 C. lenticularis ........................ 147

 C. leporinella ......................... 149

 C. leptalea ............................. 151

 C. leptopoda ............................ 91

 C. limosa ............................... 153

 C. livida ................................. 155

 C. luzulaifolia ......................... 279

 C. luzulina ............................. 157

 C. luzulina var. ablata ........... 279

 C. luzulina var. luzulina ......... 279

 C. mariposana ....................... 159

 C. mertensii ........................... 161

 C. microglochin ..................... 163

 C. microptera ........................ 165

 C. misandra ........................... 121

 C. multicaulis ......................... 167

 C. multicostata ...................... 169

 C. muricata ............................ 103

 C. nardina ............................. 171

 C. nebrascensis .................... 173

 C. nelsonii ............................. 175

 C. nervina .............................. 177

 C. neurophora ....................... 179

 C. nigricans ........................... 181

 C. norvegica .......................... 183

 C. nova .................................. 185

C. obtusata............................. 187

 C. occidentalis........................ 189

 C. oederi ............................... 191

 C. oederi var. viridula ............ 191

 C. pachystachya ................... 193

 C. parryana ........................... 195

 C. paupercula ........................ 197

 C. paysonis ........................... 199

 C. pellita ................................ 143

 C. perglobosa ........................ 201

 C. petasata ............................ 203

 C. phaeocephala ................... 205

 C. praeceptorum ................... 207

 C. praegracilis ....................... 209

 C. praticola ............................ 211

 C. prionophylla ...................... 213

 C. proposita ........................... 215

 C. pyrenaica .......................... 217

 C. raynoldsii .......................... 219

 C. retrorsa ............................. 221

 C. rossii ................................. 223

 C. rostrata ............................. 251

 C. rupestris ............................ 225

 C. saxatilis ............................. 227

 C. saximontana ....................... 61

 C. scirpoidea var. 

 pseudoscirpoidea .............. 229

 C. scoparia ............................ 231

 C. scopulorum ....................... 233

 C. sheldonii ........................... 235

 C. siccata .............................. 237

 C. simulata ............................ 239

	 	C. specifica ........................... 241

 C. stenophylla ....................... 107

 C. stipata ............................... 243

 C. straminiformis ................... 245

 C. subfusca ........................... 247

 C. subnigricans ..................... 249

 C. teneraeformis ................... 247

 C. utriculata ........................... 251

 C. vallicola ............................. 253

 C. vernacula .......................... 117

 C. vesicaria ........................... 255

 C. viridula .............................. 191

 C. vulpinoidea ....................... 257

 C. whitneyi ............................ 259

 C. xerantica ........................... 261

Glossary .................................... 262

Index of Scientific and 

Common Names ................... 267

Appendix: Species 

 Comparisons ......................... 271
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 1

Introduction ____________

“A delightful genus to work 

with—”

Goodrich and Neese (1986)

Invaluable for their ability to

stabilize stream banks, filter sediments, provide habitat for other 

organisms, and contribute to the 

diversity and aesthetics of Intermountain wetland and riparian areas as well as many upland 

communities, sedges (Carex spp.) 

constitute a challenging, speciesrich genus. Recent research and 

community classification efforts 

are beginning to elucidate details 

of the life histories and ecological 

relationships of individual sedge 

species. Use of these data necessitate accurate identifications.

This guide was prepared to assist

both specialists and nonspecialists 

in identifying common sedges of the 

Intermountain Region. The geographic area encompassing southeastern Oregon, Nevada, Utah, 

western Wyoming, and Idaho south 

of the Salmon River was considered 

when selecting species for inclusion 

(fig. 1). Because some less plentiful 

sedges are not included, it is recommended that identifications derived 

from this guide be confirmed by 

consulting regional floristic manuals with dichotomous keys or local 

taxonomists.

The guide begins with a discussion of sedge morphology with illustrations. Then, after a general 

description of the genus and a key to 

the species, technical descriptions of 

each species are presented alphabetically by scientific name. These 

descriptions include characteristics 

of the plant habit, leaves, bracts, 

spikes, pistillate scales, perigynia, 

achenes, habitat and distribution, 

distinctive characteristics, and comparisons with similar species. Color 

photographs and line drawings 

accompany the text to illustrate 

growth habits, inflorescences, pistillate scales, perigynia, and achenes 

for each species. A glossary of terms 

and an index of common names follow the technical descriptions. The 

concluding section is an appendix 

providing comparisons of similar 

species.

Color photographs and some line 

drawings for this publication were 

prepared by the senior author. 

Permission for use of additional 

line drawings was provided by the 

University of Washington Press 

(Hitchcock and others 1969), 

University of California Press (Mastrogiuseppe 1993), and Columbia 

University Press (Cronquist and 

Field Guide to 

Intermountain Sedges

Emerenciana G. Hurd

Nancy L. Shaw

Joy Mastrogiuseppe

Lynda C. Smithman

Sherel Goodrich

Introduction
2 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Figure 1—Intermountain Region.

Utah

Oregon

Wyo

Idaho

Nevada

others 1977). Other drawings are 

from Hermann (1970). Taxonomy, 

morphological descriptions, common names, habitat requirements, 

and geographic distributions were 

derived from Cronquist and others (1977), Davis (1952), Gledhill (1989), Goodrich and Neese 

(1986), Harrington (1954), Hermann (1970), Hitchcock and Cronquist (1973), Hitchcock and others 

(1969), Howell (1968), Lewis (1958), 

Mackenzie (1931, 1935), Mastrogiuseppe (1993), Standley (1985, 

1987), Taylor (1983), USDA-NRCS 

(1995), Van Eseltine (1925), Welsh 

and others (1987), and examination of specimens and notes in the 

Rocky Mountain Research Station 

Herbarium, Boise, ID; Monte L. 

Bean Herbarium, Brigham Young 

University, Provo, UT; Reno/Nesh 

Herbarium, University of Nevada, 

Reno; Intermountain Herbarium, 

Utah State University, Logan; 

Marion Ownbey Herbarium, Washington State University, Pullman; 

and Tucker Herbarium, Albertson 

College, Caldwell, ID.

References _____________

Cronquist, Arthur; Holmgren, Arthur 

H.; Holmgren, Noel H.; Reveal, James 

L.; Holmgren, Patricia K. 1977. Intermountain flora: Vascular plants of 

the Intermountain West, U.S.A. Vol. 

6. New York: Columbia University 

Press. 584 p.

Davis, Ray J. 1952. Flora of Idaho. 

Provo, UT: Brigham Young University. 836 p.

Gledhill, D. 1989. The names of plants. 

New York: Cambridge University 

Press. 202 p.

Goodrich, Sherel; Neese, Elizabeth. 

1986. Uinta Basin flora. Ogden, UT: 

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Region. 

320 p.

Harrington, H. D. 1954. Manual of the 

plants of Colorado. Denver, CO: Sage 

Books. 666 p.

Hermann, Frederick. 1970. Manual of 

the carices of the Rocky Mountains and 

Colorado Basin. Agric. Handb. 374. 

Washington, DC: U.S. Department 

of Agriculture, Forest Service. 397 p.

Hitchcock, Leo C.; Cronquist, Arthur. 

1973. Flora of the Pacific Northwest. 

Seattle: University of Washington 

Press. 730 p.

Hitchcock, Leo C.; Cronquist, Arthur; 

Ownbey, Marion; Thompson, J. W. 

1969. Vascular plants of the Pacific 

Northwest. Part 1. Vascular cryptogams, gymnosperms, and monocotyledons. Seattle: University of 

Washington Press. 914 p.

Howell, John Thomas. 1968. Carex L. 

In: Munz, Philip A.; Keck, David D. A 

California flora. Berkeley: University 

of California Press: 1428-1462.

Lewis, Mont E. 1958. Carex—its distribution and importance in Utah. 

Biological Series, Sci. Bull. 1(2). Provo, 

UT: Brigham Young University. 43 p.

Mackenzie, K. K. 1931. CyperaceaeCariceae. North American Flora. 

18(1-3): 1-68.

Mackenzie, K. K. 1935. Cyperaceae-Cariceae. North American Flora. 18(4-7): 

169-478.

Mastrogiuseppe, Joy. 1993. Carex sedge. 

In: Hickman, James C., ed. The Jepson 

manual: higher plants of California. 

Berkeley: University of California 

Press: 1107-1138.
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 3

Standley, Lisa A. 1985. Systematics 

of the Acutae group of Carex

(Cyperaceae) in the Pacific Northwest. 

Systematic Botany Monographs. 7: 

1-106.

Standley, Lisa A. 1987. Taxonomy of the 

Carex lenticularis complex in eastern 

North America. Canadian Journal of 

Botany. 65: 673-686.

Taylor, T. M. C. 1983. The sedge family of 

British Columbia. Handb. 43. Victoria, 

British Columbia: British Columbia 

Provincial Museum. 375 p.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural 

Resource Conservation Service. 1995. 

Plants—a data base. Baton Rouge, LA: 

National Plant Data Center. Variously 

paginated.

Van Eseltine, G. P. 1925. CarexL. sedge. 

In: Tidestrom, Ivar. Flora of Utah 

and Nevada. Contributions to the 

United States National Herbarium. 

Washington, DC: U.S. Government 

Printing Office. 25: 102-110.

Welsh, Stanley L.; Atwood, N. Duane; 

Goodrich, Sherel; Higgins, Larry, 

eds. 1987. A Utah flora. Great Basin 

Naturalist Memoir 9. 894 p.

Morphology ____________

Characteristics and measurements of morphological structures 

are frequently used to differentiate 

among sedge species. Descriptions 

in this guide may be more easily 

understood if the reader refers to 

figures 2 through 12—illustrations 

of characteristics. Photographs accompanying the species description 

provide additional illustrations of 

morphological characteristics.

Several important morphological 

considerations for obtaining accurate identifications were discussed 

by Cronquist and others (1977), 

Hitchcock and Cronquist (1973), 

and Hitchcock and others (1969):

1. Perigynium and achene morphology and size (see General 

Description, figs. 8 to 12, and the 

Glossary). Characteristics and 

measurements of these structures 

are frequently used to differentiate 

among sedge species. Measurements must be taken from mature 

structures; it is often impossible to 

identify immature specimens. Also, 

young or dried perigynia may have 

different shapes and colorations 

than mature or fresh specimens.

2. Basal leaf structure. Specimens may be described as being 

phyllopodic or aphyllopodic (see 

fig.3 and the Glossary). Some plants, 

however, are slightly aphyllopodic 

with one or two reduced leaves at 

the base, but with foliage leaves 

also developing near the culm base.

3. Stigma number. Some species 

having pistillate flowers with three 

stigmas occasionally produce a few 

flowers with two stigmas, these 

should be considered tristigmatic 

species. Species normally producing two stigmas rarely produce 

three stigmas (Carex saxatilis is an 

exception).

General Description: 

Carex L. _______________

Grasslike perennial herbs with 

short to long creeping rhizomes and 

hairy, fibrous roots; stems arising 

singly, few together, or in clumps; 

culms generally solid and sharply 

3-angled to sometimes round in 

cross section, aphyllopodic (basal 

leaves reduced to a leaf sheath 

without a blade) or less frequently 

phyllopodic (basal leaves with 

well-developed blades present); 

leaves 3-ranked, usually clustered 

toward the base, but sometimes 

borne along the length of the fruiting culm; leaf sheaths closed, dorsal 

side green, ventral side usually 

thin and translucent, mouth shallowly concave, convex, or truncate; 

basal sheaths sometimes shredding; 

blades usually glabrous except for 

the generally scabrous midrib and 

References Morphology General Description
4 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

margins; dorsiventrally flattened, 

channeled, or acicular in cross 

section; plants usually monoecious 

(both male and female flowers on 

one plant) or occasionally dioecious (male and female flowers on 

separate plants); inflorescenses 

terminal, usually subtended by 

an involucral bract and consisting 

of 1 to many spikes arranged in 

racemes, panicles, or heads; spikes 

unisexual (all flowers staminate or 

all pistillate) or if bisexual either 

androgynous (male flowers borne 

above the female flowers) or gynaecandrous (female flowers borne 

above the male flowers), or rarely 

with female and male flowers intermixed; each spike subtended 

by a bract that may or may not be 

sheathing at the base or by an inconspicuous, reduced bract; flowers 

few to many per spike, unisexual, 

lacking perianths; staminate flowers each subtended by a scale; stamens 3 or occasionally 2; anthers 

basifixed; pistillate flowers each 

with a 1-celled, 2- or 3-(4)-carpellate superior ovary enveloped by 

the persistent saclike perigynium 

(a specialized foliar structure) and 

subtended by an open scale (the pistillate scale); stigmas 2 or 3 (rarely 

4), exserted through the usually 

notched opening in the perigynium 

apex; fruit an achene enclosed by 

and dispersed with the perigynium 

at maturity; achenes lenticular if 

developed from a bicarpellate ovary 

(2 stigmas) or trigonous if developed from a tricarpellate ovary (3 

stigmas); achenes of single-spiked 

plants often accompanied by a 

rachilla, an extension of the floral 

axis; pericarp tough, leathery, whitish or light brown to black; seed 

with a large amount of endosperm; 

embryo small, rudimentary, imbedded in the basal end of the seed. 

Chromosomes polycentric with x = 

6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, and so forth.

The genus consists of about 1,000 

species worldwide with about 533 

species in North America. Sedges 

are widely distributed, but best 

developed in wet to moist regions 

of the North Temperate Zone and 

the Arctic.

This description was developed 

from Cronquist and others (1977), 

Goodrich and Neese (1986), Hermann (1970), Hitchcock and Cronquist (1973), Hitchcock and others 

(1969), Howell (1968), Mackenzie (1931, 1935), Mastrogiuseppe

(1993), and Welsh and others 

(1987).
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 5

Figure 2—Sedge morphology.
6 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Figure 3—Sedge growth habit and characteristics of basal leaves.

Growth habit

Basal leaves
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 7

Figure 4—Sedge morphology—leaves.

Leaf morphology

Cross section of leaf blade
8 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Figure 5—Sedge morphology—ventral leaf sheaths.
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 9

Figure 6—Sedge morphology—unisexual and bisexual spikes.

Bisexual spikes

(staminate and pistillage flowers on one spike)
10 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Figure 7—Sedge morphology—solitary spike inflorescences.

(perigynia

appressed) -

- -
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 11

Figure 8—Sedge morphology—multiple spike inflorescences.
12 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Figure 9—Sedge morphology—pistillate scales.

Pistillate scale morphology
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 13

Figure 10—Sedge morphology—perigynia and chenes.
14 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Figure 11—Sedge morphology—perigynia.

Winged, flat to

plano-convex

Sharp-edged,

plano-convex, lower

finely nerved
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 15

Figure 12—Sedge morphology—perigynium and achene cross sections; 

perigynium nerves.

Perigynium

plano-convex,

achene

plano-convex

Perigynium concavo-convex,

achene plano-convex

Perigynium concavo-convex,

achene lenticular

Perigynium strongly 

plano-convex, achene 

lenticular or 

obcompressed

Thin edged margin,

achene lenticular

Sharpedged

margin

USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 17

Key to Intermountain Carex Species_______

1. Spike solitary, terminating the culm, often with vestigial rachilla 

in the perigynium..............................................................Group I p. 17 

1. Spikes more than 1 (sometimes in a very dense cluster), vestigial 

rachilla absent

2. Stigmas 3 or 4, achene trigonous or quadrangular

3. Perigynium surface hairy at least near beak.......Group II p. 19 

3. Perigynium surface glabrous, margins sometimes ciliate near 

and on beak

4. Style tough, bony, continuous with achene, persistent, 

often becoming sinuate at maturity; spikes 

cylindrical........................................................ Group III p. 20 

4. Style more or less delicate, not bony, jointed with achene, 

deciduous; spikes various ................................Group IV p. 20 

2. Stigmas 2, achene lenticular

5. Spikes cylindrical, usually stalked; terminal spike usually staminate or with a few perigynia toward base ......... Group V p. 23 

5. Spikes ovate to obovate, sessile (sometimes compound); terminal spike androgynous or gynaecandrous

6. Spikes androgynous.........................................Group VI p. 25 

6. Spikes gynaecandrous

7. Perigynium margins thin-edged, sharp-edged, or raised, 

but not winged........................................... Group VII p. 27 

7. Perigynium margins winged at least on upper body and 

beak...........................................................Group VIII p. 28 

Group I

Spike solitary, terminating the culm; perigynium often containing 

vestigial rachilla.

1. Perigynium surface hairy at least near beak

2. Spike unisexual, more or less linear; leaf blades 1-4 mm wide; perigynia purplish; pistillate scales often hairy; inflorescence bract 

often present........... C. scirpoidea var. pseudoscirpoidea p. 229 

2. Spike bisexual, androgynous, conic; leaf blades less than 1 mm 

wide; perigynia whitish to gold; pistillate scales not hairy; inflorescence bract absent

3. Perigynium tip tapered to 0-0.3 mm beak; achene 1.6-2.2 mm 

long; longest pistillate scales usually less than 2.5 mm long (excluding any awns)..............................................C. exserta p. 111 

3. Perigynium tip usually abruptly narrowed to 0.1-0.8 mm beak; 

achene 2.2-3 mm long; longest pistillate scales usually more 

than 3 mm long (excluding any awns)............. C. filifolia p. 113 

1. Perigynium surface glabrous

4. Perigynium beakless, with conspicuous spongy stalk at base; spike 

2-3 mm wide..........................................................C. leptalea p. 151

Key to Intermountain Carex Species
18 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

4. Perigynium with distinct, sometimes short beak, without conspicuous spongy stalk at base; spike more than 3 mm wide

5. Rachilla absent or less than one-half achene length

6. Stigmas 2; achene lenticular ............................C. dioica p. 95 

6. Stigmas 3; achene trigonous

7. Perigynia ascending at maturity, elliptic, reddish 

brown; pistillate scales persistent; achene filling perigynium.......................................................C. rupestris p. 225 

7. Perigynia widely spreading to reflexed at maturity, lanceolate to ovate, greenish brown to dark brown; pistillate 

scales usually deciduous before perigynia; achene not filling perigynium

8. Leaf blades 1.5-3 mm wide; plants long-rhizomatous 

but sometimes forming clumps; perigynia widely 

spreading to reflexed at maturity...C. nigricans p. 181 

8. Leaf blades 0.5-1.5 mm wide; plants forming 

dense tufts; perigynia spreading at 

maturity..........................................C. pyrenaica p. 217 

5. Rachilla well-developed (at least one-half achene length)

9. Perigynia linear-lanceolate, 0.8-1 mm wide, 3-5 mm long; 

rachilla projecting through beak orifice; pistillate scales 

deciduous before perigynia; leaves 0.3-0.6 mm 

wide.....................................................C. microglochin p. 163 

9. Perigynia lanceolate to broadly ovate, if less than 1 mm 

wide then also less than 3.5 mm long; rachilla not projecting 

through beak orifice; pistillate scales persistent; leaves 

usually usually more than 0.6 mm wide

10. Perigynia at least 4.9 mm long, only 1-6 per spike, green

11. Lower pistillate scales leaflike, 1-15 cm long; 

leaf blades much shorter than 

culms .......................................C. multicaulis p. 167 

11. Lower pistillate scales not leaflike, less than 1 cm 

long; leaf blades from slightly shorter to longer than 

culms ................................................. C. geyeri p. 125 

10. Perigynia less than 4.9 mm long, or, if longer, also more 

than 6 per spike, gold to brown

12. Perigynia trigonous or terete in cross section; margins not sharp- or thin-edged; achene more or less 

filling perigynium

13. Culms in dense tufts; perigynia thin-walled, 

pale below and brownish toward beak; leaf 

blades less than 1 mm 

wide...................................... C. elynoides p. 109 

13. Culms scattered on long rhizomes; perigynia 

thick-walled, dark shiny brown; leaf blades usually 1-1.5 mm wide ...............C. obtusata p. 187 

12. Perigynia flat to plano-convex; margins sharp- or 

thin-edged; achene smaller than perigynium
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 19

14. Perigynia plano-convex with narrow, flat margin 

toward beak .......................................C. nardina p. 171 

14. Perigynia flat, at least around achene

15. Stigmas 2; achene lenticular; 

wet places ......................................C. capitata p. 81 

15. Stigmas 3; achene trigonous; moist to dry places

16. Perigynia 4-7 mm long, 2.1-4.8 mm wide, at least 3 

times achene width; spike broadly conic, 

6-10 mm wide...C. breweri var. paddoensis p. 71

16. Perigynia 2.5-4.1 mm long, 0.9-2 mm wide, 

less than 3 times achene width; spike elliptic 

to narrowly conic, 

3-6 mm wide .................C. subnigricans p. 249 

Group II

Stigmas 3 or 4; achenes trigonous or quadrangular; perigynia at least 

sparsely hairy, terete in cross section; pistillate spikes from short-ovate 

to cylindrical.

1. Leaf sheaths pubescent; style bony, continuous with achene, persistent; perigynia 5-8 mm long ...................................C. sheldonii p. 235 

1. Leaf sheaths glabrous; style not bony, jointed with achene, deciduous; 

perigynia less than 5 mm long

2. Inflorescence bracts with conspicuous sheath at least 5 mm long

3. Perigynia widely ascending to spreading, usually primarily 

green, less than 2.5 mm from beak tip to achene; mouth of inflorescence bract sheath usually U-shaped or truncate, usually not 

purple-banded at top ...................................... C. luzulina p. 157 

3. Perigynia ascending, usually primarily red brown or purple, 

more than 2 mm from beak tip to achene; mouth of inflorescence bract sheath from deeply Y- or V-shaped to U-shaped, 

often purple-banded at top..........................C. fissuricola p. 279 

2. Inflorescence bracts sheathless or with short sheathlike base

4. Pistillate spikes less than 1.5 cm long; perigynia membranous

5. Lowest inflorescence bract purple; stigmas usually 4 and 

achene quadrangular; leaf blades sickle-shaped; pistillate 

scales ciliate ......................................... C. concinnoides p. 83 

5. Lowest inflorescence bract green; stigmas 3 and achene 

trigonous; leaf blades not sickle-shaped; pistillate scales not 

ciliate

6. Leaves firm; lowest inflorescence bract shorter than or 

equal to inflorescence; plants of dry open places in pinyonjuniper zone of the southernmost part of the Intermountain region ............................................. C. geophila p. 123 

6. Leaves soft; lowest inflorescence bract longer than 

inflorescence; plants of coniferous forest and meadows, 

northern and southern parts of the Intermountain 

region...........................................................C. rossii p. 223 
20 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

4. Pistillate spikes cylindrical, 1.5-6 cm long; perigynia firm, thickwalled

7. Leaf blades flat, not rigid; upper ligules thin and membranous, at least 2 mm long....................... C. lanuginosa p. 143 

7. Leaves canaliculate or rolled, rigid; upper ligules thick and 

tough, less than 2 mm long ................... C. lasiocarpa p. 145 

Group III

Spikes cylindrical; stigmas 3; achene trigonous; style tough, bony, continuous with the achene, often becoming sinuous at maturity.

1. Leaf sheaths hairy; style straight ........................... C. atherodes p. 53 

1. Leaf sheaths glabrous, style usually sinuous

2. Lower pistillate spikes on long nodding stalks; pistillate 

scales usually white or cream with pale reddish center and long 

awn.................................................................... C. hystricina p. 135 

2. Lower pistillate spikes more or less erect; stalks short or absent; 

pistillate scales usually green to purplish, at most short-awned

3. Perigynia ascending, not crowded in spike, usually tapering 

gradually to beak; beak teeth 

0.2-1.5 mm long ............................................. C. vesicaria p. 255

3. Perigynia spreading to reflexed, densely crowded in spike, 

abruptly narrowed to beak; beak teeth 0.1-0.8 mm long

4. Lowest inflorescence bract no more than twice as long as 

inflorescence; perigynia 3.5-8 mm long; upper spikes not 

crowded....................................................C. urticulata p. 251 

(formerly called C. rostrata)

4. Lowest inflorescence bract at least twice as long as inflorescence; perigynia 7-10 mm long; upper spikes crowded 

(occasionally spikes few and distant)......... C. retrorsa p. 221 

Group IV

Stigmas 3; achene trigonous; styles deciduous; perigynia glabrous and 

variously shaped.

1. Leaf blades with long soft hairs .............................. C. whitneyi p. 259 

1. Leaf blades glabrous

2. Lower pistillate scales long, leaflike, looking like inflorescence 

bracts; inflorescence bracts absent; achene more than 2.5 mm 

long..............................................................................C. backii p. 61 

2. Lower pistillate scales not long and leaflike; inflorescence bracts 

present; achene less than 2.5 mm long

3. Lowest inflorescence bract with definite sheath at least 5 mm 

long

4. Lower inflorescence bract blades ascending-spreading, much 

longer than inflorescence; perigynia spreading to reflexed

5. Perigynia 2-3.5 mm long, beak 0.6-1.2 mm long, 

straight.......................................................C. oederi p. 191 

5. Perigynia 3.5-6.2 mm long, beak 1.4-2.3 mm long, 

falcate ...........................................................C. flava p. 115 
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 21

4. Lower inflorescence bract blades erect to ascending, shorter 

than or more or less equaling inflorescence length; perigynia 

appressed to spreading

6. Perigynium tapering to conic tip; beak none or less than 

0.4 mm long

7. Perigynia 3.5-4.6 mm long, papillate, glaucous; achenes 

2-3.5 mm long ........................................ C. livida p. 155 

7. Perigynia 2-4 mm long, not papillate or glaucous; 

achenes less than 2 mm long

8. Spikes on nodding peduncles; perigynia 

shiny, brown to olive green; culms in dense 

tufts ..............................................C. capillaris p. 79 

8. Spikes erect; perigynia not shiny, green to 

light brown and often reddish-dotted; culms 

single or two or three together from long 

rhizomes.............................................C. crawei p. 85 

6. Perigynium abruptly narrowed or tapering to a definite 

beak at least 0.5 mm long

9. Terminal spike gynaecandrous or wholly pistillate; perigynia pale below and purple toward 

beak.....................C. fuliginosa var. misandra p. 121 

9. Terminal spike staminate or androgynous; perigynia 

purple or green throughout

10. Perigynia dark purple, 1.7-2.5 mm wide with conspicuous flat margin at least two-thirds as wide 

as achene, not ciliate; pistillate scales not ciliate; 

inflorescence bract sheath conspicuously tapered to 

mouth that is at least 2 mm wide and usually shallowly U-shaped with a wide purple band at 

top ........................................ C. luzulaifolia p. 279

10. Perigynia green to dark purple, less than 1.7 mm 

wide (if wider and with flat margin, then beak and 

pistillate scale tip and midrib ciliate); margin none 

or flat and less than one-half achene width; inflorescence bract sheath linear or slightly tapered to the 

mouth that is less than 2 mm wide and U-, V-, or Yshaped with at most a narrow purple band at top

11. Inflorescence bract sheath linear, mouth usually shallowly U-shaped or truncate; perigynia 

usually mostly green (purple in C. luzulina

var. ablata), surface smooth, 2-ribbed with 

raised veins between ribs; less than 2.5 mm 

from beak tip to achene ..... C. luzulina p. 157 

11. Inflorescence bract sheath linear or slightly 

tapering to mouth, mouth usually deeply Yor V-shaped; perigynia usually red brown or 

purple, surface appearing roughened, 2-ribbed 

without raised veins between; at least 2 mm 

from beak tip to achene.. C. fissuricola p. 279 
22 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

3. Lowest inflorescence bract sheathless or with sheathlike base less 

than 5 mm long

12. ..Terminal spike staminate at tip or throughout

13. Spikes narrow-cylindric; perigynia at least 60 per spike, 

obovate, spreading; leaf blades 8-20 mm wide; stem sharply 

3-winged ....................................................C. amplifolia p. 43 

13. Spikes ovoid to broad-cylindric; perigynia less than 50 per 

spike, ovate to obovate, ascending or spreading; leaf blades 

less than 10 mm wide

14. Perigynium body tapered to broadly conic tip, beak usually absent; style base often persistent, black, and exserted 

through perigynium beak; roots covered with dense, yellow 

felty hairs

15. Terminal spike 1-3 cm long; leaves often canaliculate; 

culms usually aphyllopodic.................C. limosa p. 153 

15. Terminal spike 0.7-1.5 cm long; leaves flat; culms usually phyllopodic ..........................C. paupercula p. 197 

14. Perigynium tapered or abruptly narrowed to short linear 

beak; style base not persistent, brown, sometimes exserted; roots glabrous or covered with white or brown nonfelty 

hairs

16. Perigynia spreading, body spherical or with flat margin around achene, conspicuously many-veined or 

many-ribbed when dry................. C. raynoldsii p. 219 

16. Perigynia ascending, body flat or flat around achene 

when pressed or dry, more or less veinless and with 

only 2 ribs

17. Perigynium broadly elliptic or broadly ovate to 

nearly round, the 2 ribs more toward ventral 

surface than at perigynium 

margins..................................... C. paysonis p. 199

17. Perigynium obovate to elliptic, the 2 ribs 

marginal .............................C. heteroneura p. 131

12. ..Terminal spike gynaecandrous or mixed

18. Spikes 6-10, the lowest usually on long, nodding stalk; lowest 

inflorescence bract longer than inflorescence; perigynia very 

flat, more than three times as wide as achene and little distended by it................................................C. mertensii p. 161 

18. Spikes 6 or fewer, the lowest sessile or on upright stalk except in C. bella; lowest inflorescence bract shorter than inflorescence; perigynia trigonous to rounded, with or without a 

distinct flat margin, less than three times as wide as achene 

and distended by it 

19. Lower leaf sheaths cross-fibrillose; pistillate scales 

awned; perigynia conspicuously papillate near 

beak .................................................... C. buxbaumii p. 75 

19. Lower leaf sheaths not cross-fibrillose; pistillate scales 

unawned (sometimes tip attenuate); perigynia papillate 

or not
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 23

20. Spikes all sessile

21. Perigynia more than twice as long as wide, more or less inflated 

or trigonous....................................................... C. nelsonii p. 175 

21. Perigynia less than twice as long as wide, flat..... C. nova p. 185 

20. At least lower spikes on short or long stalks

22. Pistillate scales with distinct white-hyaline margin and usually 

white-hyaline tip

23. Spikes on long, nodding stalks; perigynia not 

papillate...............................................................C. bella p. 65 

23. Spikes on short stiff stalks

24. Pistillate scales more or less covering perigynia; perigynia flattish, 1.3-2 mm wide, body at least one-fourth 

empty above achene; usually dry rocky 

habitats.................................................C. albonigra p. 39 

24. Pistillate scales shorter than perigynia; perigynia trigonous, 1-1.3 mm wide, body more or less filled by achene; 

usually wet habitats ..........................C. norvegica p. 183 

22. Pistillate scales usually without distinct white margin and tip

25. Pistillate scales longer but much narrower than perigynia, 

usually less than 1 mm wide, tip attenuate; inflorescence 

usually dense..................................................C. helleri p. 129 

25. Pistillate scales shorter and narrower than perigynia, at 

least 1 mm wide, tip rounded to acuminate; inflorescence 

dense or open

26. Spikes 2-4 mm wide; perigynia 1.6-3 mm long, achene 

nearly filling body ...............................C. parryana p. 195 

26. Spikes 5-8 mm wide; perigynia 3-4 mm long, achene not 

filling body

27. Perigynia 2-3 times as long as wide, olive green 

to golden brown, often red dotted, flat only above 

achene........................................C. atrosquama p. 57 

27. Perigynia 1-2 times as long as wide, green 

or purple, flat above and at margins of 

achene......................................C. heteroneura p. 131 

Group V

Stigmas 2; achenes lenticular; spikes mostly cylindrical, bicolored with 

green and purplish black or brownish; beak very short, entire or shallowly bidentate.

1. Lowest inflorescence bract with sheath at least 4.5 mm long; solitary 

pistillate spikes often on long stalks arising near plant base; perigynia fleshy, papillate, white or green to orange

2. Pistillate scales and perigynia crowded, scales red brown to purplish, often covering perigynia; bract sheath mouth V-shaped; 

spikes densely clustered (except basal ones), terminal spike pistillate at least at tip .....................................................C. garberi p. 59 

2. Pistillate scales and perigynia usually not crowded, scales white 

to reddish brown, shorter than perigynia; bract sheath mouth 
24 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

U-shaped; spikes not densely clustered, terminal spike staminate 

or sometimes pistillate at tip

3. Lower pistillate scales closely appressed against perigynia, persisting for a time after perigynia have fallen; staminate portion 

of terminal spike (1.8)2-3.5 mm wide; perigynia appearing more 

or less obovate in spike, stalked, nerved but not prominently 

ribbed, tip conspicuously papillate at 10 times magnification, at 

complete maturity gold or white when fresh, greenish white or 

pale gold when dry, usually not squashed toward 

base.........................................................................C. hassei p. 59 

3. Lower pistillate scales not appressed against perigynia, often 

falling before perigynia; staminate portion of terminal spike 

0.9-2 mm wide; perigynium appearing spherical in spike, usually sessile, strongly several-ribbed, tip usually not conspicuously 

papillate at 10 times magnification, at complete 

maturity orange when fresh, orange or gold to purplish 

when dry, often white above, more or less squashed 

toward base ............................................................ C. aurea p. 59 

1. Lowest inflorescence bract sheathless; solitary pistillate spikes not 

normally present; perigynia membranous, not fleshy, green to brown

4. Style tough, bony, continuous with achene, persistent; perigynia 

with marginal ribs but at most only inconspicuous nerves between 

ribs........................................................................ C. saxatilis p. 227 

4. Style more or less delicate, jointed with achene, usually 

deciduous; perigynia with or without prominent nerves

5. Perigynia nerveless or with very indistinct nerves

6. Perigynia with 1-5 faint nerves on each face; achene one-half 

to two-thirds as long as perigynium body; culm angles 

scabrous..................................................... C. angustata p. 45 

6. Perigynium nerveless; achene about one-half as long as perigynium body; culm angles glabrous

7. Lowest spike 1-10 cm long, bract usually more or less 

equaling or surpassing inflorescence length, stalk of 

inflorescence 0-4.2 cm long; perigynia weakly minutely 

papillate, green, more or less red-dotted or red-blotched; 

achene shiny........................................... C. aquatilis p. 47 

7. Lowest spike 0.8-3 cm long, bract usually less than onehalf inflorescence length, peduncle 0-15 mm long; perigynia strongly minutely papillate, usually purple above or 

throughout; achene dull

8. Lower leaf sheaths cross-fibrillose, up to 15 cm long; 

perigynium tip acute................ C. prionophylla p. 213 

8. Lower leaf sheaths not cross-fibrillose, up to 5 cm long; 

perigynium tip rounded ..............C. scopulorum p. 233 

5. Perigynia conspicuously nerved on both surfaces

9. Perigynium beak 0.2-1 mm long, tip notched at least 0.1 mm, 

teeth minutely hairy; leaves conspicuously clustered at culm 

base, fresh leaves blue-glaucous ........C. nebrascensis p. 173 
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 25

9. Perigynium beak usually less than 0.4 mm long, tip notched 

less than 0.1 mm, teeth glabrous; leaves distributed along 

lower culm, fresh leaves not blue-glaucous

10. Plants forming dense clumps or tussocks; perigynium 

green or whitish, constricted just above base, on stalk 

usually at least 0.1 mm long, conspicuously papillate; 

lower leaf sheaths glabrous.......... C. lenticularis p. 147 

10. Plants long-rhizomatous, sometimes forming dense 

swards; perigynium green, brown, or purplish, not constricted above base, sessile, weakly papillate; lower leaf 

sheaths scabrous................................ C. angustata p. 45 

Group VI

Inflorescences elongate to ovoid heads; spikes bisexual (if plants are dioecious then spikes are unisexual), sessile and short; perigynia with dorsal 

suture or obliquely cleft beak; stigmas 2; achene lenticular.

1. Perigynia 1-3 per spike, blackish at maturity; inflorescence only 

3-4 mm wide; terminal spike often with a conspicuous narrow staminate tip.......................................................................C. disperma p. 97 

1. Perigynia at least 3 per spike, usually not blackish; inflorescence 

more than 4 mm wide; terminal spike tip not conspicuous and narrow

2. Lower perigynium wall thick but soft, filled with spongy tissue, 

base often white and lumpy

3. Perigynium long-tapered to poorly defined beak, from beak

tip to achene at least one-half total perigynium length, body 

widest at base

4. Lower spikes compound; inflorescence paniculate, 2-10 cm 

long, 1-3 cm wide, spikes numerous

5. Perigynia conspicuously many-nerved on both sides; larger leaf blades 4-11 mm wide....................C. stipata p. 243 

5. Perigynia few-nerved dorsally and nerveless ventrally; 

larger leaf blades 3-6 mm wide .....................C. alma p. 41 

4. Lower spikes simple; inflorescence 1-3 cm long, 0.6-1.8 cm 

wide, spikes few to numerous

6. Leaf sheath with thick, tough rim at mouth, not crosscorrugate, dorsally white-spotted...........C. nervina p. 177 

6. Leaf sheath membranous at mouth, sometimes crosscorrugate, not white-spotted dorsally

7. Margin of perigynium beak and upper body entire; 

leaves usually clustered near culm base, sheaths not 

ventrally cross-corrugate .....................C. jonesii p. 141 

7. Margin of perigynium beak and upper body ciliateserrulate at least on 1 side; leaves distributed along 

lower culm, sheaths often ventrally crosscorrugate..................................... C. neurophora p. 179 

3. Perigynium short-tapered or abruptly narrowed to conic or 

linear beak, from beak tip to achene less than one-half total 

perigynium length, body widest at or above base
26 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

8. Perigynium beak 0.2-0.6 mm long, usually less than 

one-fourth the length of the body; perigynium shiny 

brown..........................................................C. simulata p. 239 

8. Perigynium beak at least 0.7 mm long, more than one-fourth 

the length of the body; perigynia green to brown, shiny or dull

9. Perigynium with lengthwise groove 0.1-0.3 mm wide on 

dorsal surface near base; beak with conspicuous white 

dorsal suture flap

10. Leaf sheath ventrally copper-colored or purplish 

near mouth, often cross-corrugated; inflorescence 

3.5-8 cm long, flexible, paniculate, lower spikes 

compound.........................................C. cusickii p. 89 

10. Leaf sheath ventrally white or with narrow brown 

margin at mouth, not cross-corrugated; inflorescence 

1.5-6 cm long, stiff, racemose or paniculate, lower 

spikes simple or compound ............C. diandra p. 93 

9. Perigynium without dorsal lengthwise groove or with 

groove less than 0.1 mm wide; beak without conspicuous 

dorsal suture flap

11. Culms in definite clumps; perigynia up to twice as 

long as wide; leaf sheath usually ventrally crosscorrugated ................................C. vulpinoidea p. 257 

11. Culms single along rhizomes; perigynia more than 

twice as long as wide; leaf sheaths not cross-corrugated ventrally ............................. C. praegracilis p. 209 

2. Lower perigynium wall thin, lacking spongy tissue, base not white 

and lumpy

12. ..Spikes loosely aggregated into a more or less elongate inflorescence, individual spikes more or less distinct

13. Perigynium very shiny, dorsally bulged so that marginal ribs 

are actually on ventral face.......................C. vallicola p. 253 

13. Perigynium not dorsally bulged, marginal ribs at perigynium 

margins

14. Perigynia conspicuously spreading; pistillate scales more 

or less equaling perigynia in length; plants clumped or 

shortly rhizomatous.......................C. occidentalis p. 189 

14. Perigynia ascending; pistillate scales usually shorter 

than perigynia; plants long-rhizomatous

15. Perigynia up to 4 mm long; plants of moist to wet 

places, tolerant of alkali........ C. praegracilis p. 209 

15. Perigynia at least 4.2 mm long; plants of dry to 

moderately moist places, not usually 

alkaline.............................................C. siccata p. 237 

12. ..Spikes closely crowded, forming a globose to subglobose head, 

individual spikes not easily distinguishable

16. Perigynia flat, broadly ovate

17. Perigynia nerveless, very thinwalled ............................................... C. perglobosa p. 201 
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 27

17. Perigynia at least dorsally nerved, 

thin-walled .................. C. foetida var. vernacula p. 117 

16. Perigynia plano-convex; lance-ovate or elliptic

18. Perigynia spreading, body coppery brown with green 

margins; plants cespitose ........................ C. hoodii p. 133 

18. Perigynia ascending or appressed-ascending, body stramineous to blackish; plants long-rhizomatous but sometimes forming dense clumps

19. Stigmas less than 4 mm long, deciduous; style less 

than 1.5 mm long, included; perigynium 2.5-3.5 mm 

long; inflorescence on bisexual or pistillate plants 

less than 2 cm long; plants monoecious 

or dioecious................................. C. eleocharis p. 107 

19. Stigmas 4-6 mm long, persistent; style 1.8-3.5 mm 

long, exserted; perigynium 3.5-4.6 mm long; pistillate inflorescences 1.5-3.5 cm long; plants usually 

dioecious.........................................C. douglasii p. 99 

Group VII

Spikes short and sessile; perigynia plano-convex with thin-edged, sharpedged, or raised margins; terminal spikes gynaecandrous, lateral ones 

wholly pistillate.

1. Inflorescence a dense suborbicular head 0.6-1.5 cm long, usually dark 

brown or blackish green, lowest internode less than 1 mm long; perigynium margins entire to beak tip............................. C. illota p. 137 

1. Inflorescence elongate, at least 1.5 cm long, green to medium brown, 

lowest internode at least 2 mm long; perigynium margins entire or 

ciliate-serrulate on beak

2. Perigynium filled at least in lower one-half of body with spongy tissue, upper body more or less papillate

3. Perigynium 2-3.4 mm long; beak 0.6-1.2 mm long, more than 

one-fourth total perigynium length, conic; lower leaf sheaths at 

least sparsely red-dotted ventrally........................ C. arcta p. 51 

3. Perigynium 1.5-3 mm long; beak less than 0.55 mm long, less 

than one-fourth total perigynium length, widely conic; lower 

leaf sheaths not ventrally red-dotted

4. Perigynia usually no more than 10 per spike, ventrally 

nerveless or only faintly nerved........... C. brunnescens p. 73 

4. Perigynia usually 15-30 per spike, conspicuously nerved 

ventrally

5. Perigynium beak with brown dorsal suture flap or stripe; 

pistillate scales light brown with white margins and tip; 

inflorescence 1-2.5 cm long ......... C. praeceptorum p. 207 

5. Perigynium beak without brown dorsal suture flap or 

stripe; pistillate scales white or sometimes gold or pale 

brown; inflorescence 2-5 cm long..........C. canescens p. 77 

2. Perigynium with spongy tissue lacking or only near the base, upper body not papillate
28 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

6. Perigynium margins thin-edged; spikes closely clustered; plants 

alpine................................................................ C. bipartita p. 67 

6. Perigynium margins raised into ribs; at least lower spikes not 

closely clustered with upper ones; plants of lowlands to moderate elevations

7. Perigynia appressed to ascending, widest above 

base.............................................................C. deweyana p. 91 

7. Perigynia spreading to reflexed, widest at base

8. Perigynium 1.9-3.3 mm long, beak densely serrate, onefourth to one-third body length; 0.5-1 mm from beak tip 

to achene; wet places but usually not in sphagnum 

bogs ..........................................................C. interior p. 139 

8. Perigynium 1.6-4 mm long, beak sparsely serrate, at least 

equaling body length; 0.8-2 mm from beak tip to achene; 

in sphagnum bogs .................................C. echinata p. 103 

Group VIII

J. Mastrogiuseppe

Spikes gynaecandrous, ovoid to oblong, sessile, aggregated into compact 

or elongated heads; perigynia plano-convex to flattened, margins winged 

or thin-edged; beaks ill-defined or abruptly tapering, smooth or serrulate, beak tip usually obliquely cleft.

1. Lower 2-3 inflorescence bracts elongate, more or less leaflike, at least 

the lowest one usually longer than inflorescence; inflorescence dense 

and headlike, less than 3 cm long .....................C. athrostachya p. 55 

1. Lower 2-3 inflorescence bracts not elongate and leaflike, shorter than 

inflorescence except sometimes the lowest one; inflorescence dense or 

open, shorter or longer than 3 cm

2. Ligule at least 2.5 mm long; leaf sheath usually prolonged ventrally at least 4 mm above collar; inflorescence pale green, silvery 

green, or whitish.......................................................C. fracta p. 119 

2. Ligule less than 2.5 mm long; leaf sheath usually prolonged less 

than 4 mm ventrally above collar; if ligule more than 2.5 mm long 

and ventral sheath prolonged, inflorescence not pale green, silvery 

green, or whitish

3. Perigynia flat in cross section except over achene

4. Pistillate scales more or less covering perigynia, sometimes 

exposing beak tip

5. Spikes more or less distant, lowest inflorescence internode 

5-15 mm long, second internode 4-14 mm long; perigynia 

0.5-0.8 mm thick

6. Perigynium beak tip flat and ciliate-serrulate; achenes 

1.1-1.75 mm wide ........................... C. xerantica p. 261 

6. Perigynium beak tip cylindric and more or less 

entire for 0.5-1 mm from tip; achenes 1.2-2 mm 

wide..................................................C. praticola p. 211 

5. Spikes densely to loosely aggregated, lowest inflorescence 

internode 2-10 mm long, second internode 0.5-4.5 mm 

long; perigynium 0.25-0.5 mm thick
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 29

7. Leaf blades flat, 2.3-4 mm wide; lowest 

inflorescence internode usually 2-3.5 mm long; perigynia usually dark brown at maturity, often 

green above................................ C. arapahoensis p. 49 

7. Leaf blades folded or margins revolute, 0.5-2.5(3) mm 

wide; lowest inflorescence internode 4-10 mm long; 

perigynia white, pale gold, coppery, or medium 

brown ...................................... C. phaeocephala p. 205 

4. Pistillate scales shorter than perigynia, exposing beak and 

upper body margin

8. Individual spikes usually indistinct, densely clustered in 

inflorescence

9. Perigynia 2-3 times as wide as pistillate 

scales................................................C. proposita p. 215 

9. Perigynia 1-1.5 times as wide as pistillate scales

10. Achenes 1.3-2.4 mm long, 1-1.6 mm wide; spikes 

9-12 mm long; perigynium wing margins crinkled 

at least above.................. C. straminiformis p. 245 

10. Achenes 1-1.8 mm long, by 0.7-1.3 mm wide; spikes 

5-10 mm long; perigynium wing margins usually 

not crinkled

11. Perigynia 4.2-6.5 mm long, usually at least 

2.5 mm from beak tip to achene, flat margin 

including wing 0.3-0.7 mm wide; 

alpine .............................. C. haydeniana p. 127 

11. Perigynia 2.9-5 mm long, usually less than 

2.5 mm from beak tip to achene, flat margin 

including wing 0.2-0.5 mm wide; lowland to 

subalpine...........................C. microptera p. 165 

8. Individual spikes distinct, loosely aggregated in 

inflorescence

12. Flat margin of perigynium including wing less than 

0.4 mm wide; perigynia less than 2 mm wide, lanceolate to ovate or obovate

13. Perigynia 0.2-0.3 mm thick, 0.9-1.25 mm 

wide, wings 0.1-0.2 mm wide; achene 0.8-1.5 mm 

long ...........................................C. crawfordii p. 87 

13. Perigynia 0.4-0.6 mm thick, 1.2-2.5 mm wide, 

wings 0.2-0.6 mm wide; achene 1.5-2.3 mm 

long .................................. C. phaeocephala p. 205 

12. Flat margin of perigynium including wing less than 

0.4 mm wide; perigynia at least 1.8 mm wide, round to 

broadly ovate

14. Spikes fusiform or elliptic; achene 0.5-0.9 mm 

wide............................................ C. scoparia p. 231 

14. Spikes lanceolate to broadly ovate; achene 0.85-2 

mm wide
30 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

15. Perigynia with at least 9 nerves on dorsal face, nerves 

thin, longer than achene; achene more or less at 

perigynium base.................. C. straminiformis p. 245 

15. Perigynia with less than 9 nerves on dorsal face, 

nerves thick, often shorter than achene; achene often 

well above perigynium base

16. Perigynia 2-3 times as wide as pistillate 

scales .......................................C. proposita p. 215

16. Perigynia 1-1.5 times as wide as pistillate scales

17. Perigynia 5.5-7.2 mm long, 2.6-3.8 mm wide, 

0.5-0.7 mm thick; leaf blades 2-6 mm 

wide ............................... C. egglestonii p. 105 

17. Perigynia 3.5-6 mm long, 1.2-2.5 mm wide, 

0.3-0.5 mm thick; leaf blades 0.5-2.5(3) mm 

wide ......................... C. phaeocephala p. 205 

3. Perigynia plano-convex to biconvex in cross section

18. ..Perigynia 5.5-8.1 mm long, beak cylindric and more or less entire 

for at least 0.5 mm from tip

19. Perigynia broadly ovate, 2.6-3.8 mm wide, flat margin including wing 0.5-1.1 mm wide............... C. egglestonii p. 105 

19. Perigynia lanceolate to ovate, 1.1-2.5 mm wide, flat margin 

including wing 0.15-0.5 mm wide

20. Perigynia 0.4-0.5 mm thick; spikes densely aggregated, 

1.5-3 mm between the lowest two...........C. ebenea p. 101 

20. Perigynia 0.5-0.9 mm thick; spikes distant or loosely aggregated, 4-14 mm between the lowest two

21. Perigynia with 3-10 strong nerves on ventral face at 

least one-half as long as achene... C. petasata p. 203

21. Perigynia with at most a few nerves on ventral face

less than one-half achene length...C. praticola p. 211

18. ..Perigynia less than 5.5 mm long, beak tip cylindric and entire or 

flat and ciliate-serrulate

22. Perigynia boat-shaped, less than 4.2 mm long, wings curved 

toward ventral face, less than 0.12 mm wide, beak tips inconspicuous in inflorescence; pistillate scales covering at least 

perigynium bodies..................................C. leporinella p. 149 

22. Perigynia not boat-shaped, wings not curved toward ventral 

face, less than or more than 0.12 mm wide; or if perigynia 

boat-shaped and wings curved toward ventral face, then 

beak tips conspicuous in inflorescence and most pistillate 

scales shorter than perigynia

23. Ventral perigynium face with at least 3 conspicuous 

nerves longer than achene

24. Dorsal perigynium face with at least 9 fine nerves 

longer than achene

25. Perigynia usually more than 1.8 mm wide, ovate 

to broadly ovate, less than 2.5 mm from beak tip 

to achene; inflorescence usually more or less 

triangular........................C. multicostata p. 169 
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 31

25. Perigynia usually less than 1.8 mm wide, lanceolate to fusiform, usually more than 2.5 mm from beak tip to achene; 

inflorescence usually oblong...................... C. specifica p. 241 

24. Dorsal perigynium face with at most 9 thick nerves shorter or 

longer than achene

26. Pistillate scales more or less covering perigynia; 

perigynium beak tip red brown with white-hyaline 

margin .............................................. C. phaeocephala p. 205 

26. Pistillate scales shorter than perigynia, or, if covering perigynia, perigynium beak tip not red brown with whitehyaline margin

27. Inflorescence dense, lowest two internodes together 

less than one-third, usually about one-fifth, total 

inflorescence length; perigynia 0.4-0.5(0.6) mm 

thick......................................................... C. abrupta p. 35 

27. Inflorescence more or less open, lowest two inflorescence 

internodes together less than one-half, usually about onethird, total inflorescence length; perigynia 

0.5-0.6(0.7) mm thick.....................C. mariposana p. 159 

23. Ventral perigynium face nerveless or with up to 4 nerves that do not 

reach top of achene.

28. Perigynia 0.9-1.25 mm wide, 0.2-0.3 mm 

thick ................................................................C. crawfordii p. 87 

28. Perigynia 1.2-3.4 mm wide, 0.35-0.7 mm thick

29. Achenes 1-1.6 mm long; perigynia usually less than 3.5 mm 

long

30. Perigynium beak cylindric and more or less entire at 

least at tip, tip gold to light brown; pistillate scales usually shorter than perigynia .................C. subfusca p. 247 

30. Perigynium beak flat to tip, tip rust brown; pistillate 

scales more or less covering perigynia, at most the beaks 

exposed ........................................................C. bebbii p. 63 

29. Achenes at least 1.6 mm long; perigynia usually over 3.5 mm 

long

31. Perigynium beak cylindric and more or less entire for at 

least 0.5 mm from tip

32. Perigynia usually gold brown or coppery with a metallic sheen; lowest inflorescence internode usually 

less than 4 mm; spikes closely aggregated at least 

near inflorescence tip...........C. pachystachya p. 193 

32. Perigynia cream-colored to brown, without a metallic 

sheen; lowest inflorescence internode at least 4 mm; 

spikes loosely aggregated at least near inflorescence 

base

33. Achenes 0.5-0.7 mm thick; inflorescence resembling a string of beads; plants 20-95 cm tall; lowlands to mid-montane ..........C. praticola p. 211 
32 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

33. Achenes 0.2-0.5 mm thick; inflorescence not resembling a string of beads; plants 5-40 cm tall; 

subalpine to alpine ...... C. phaeocephala p. 205 

31. Perigynium beak flat and more or less ciliate serrulate to 

tip or cylindric for less than 0.5 mm

34. Pistillate scales white or tinged with gold or rusty 

brown; achenes at least 1.3 mm wide

35. Inflorescence dense, stiff; pistillate scales shorter 

than perigynia, exposing upper bodies; perigynia 

(2)2.4-3.4 mm wide, 0.5-0.6 mm 

thick ............................................C. brevior p. 69 

35. Inflorescence open, flexible; pistillate scales 

more or less covering perigynia or beak tips exposed; perigynia 1.5-2.5 mm wide, 0.6-0.8 mm 

thick .............................................. C. aenea p. 37 

34. Pistillate scales gold, orangish, or brown, often 

with green center; achenes 1.3 mm wide or 

less....................................... C. phaeocephala p. 205 
32 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 33

Species Descriptions

Species Descriptions
34 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

A

B

C

D

Carex abrupta. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, (D) achenes. 

B through D: Left and center—dorsal views; right—ventral view.
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 35

Carex abrupta Mack.

Abrupt-beaked sedge

HABIT: Densely cespitose from very short rhizomes. Culms: Erect, 

4-6 dm tall, much longer than the leaves, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: Borne toward the base. Blades: Flat, 1.5-2.5 mm wide. 

Sheaths: Thin and hyaline ventrally, truncate at the mouth.

BRACTS: Small and inconspicuous.

SPIKES: Several, gynaecandrous, sessile, indistinguishable, crowded 

into a capitate head 9-17 mm long.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate with an acuminate tip, shorter and narrower than the perigynia, brown with lighter midveins.

PERIGYNIA: Broadly lanceolate to ovate, broad and rounded at the 

base, abruptly contracted at the apex, usually flat or plano-convex, membranaceous, wing-margined to the base, serrulate from the middle to the 

beak, 3-5.4 mm long, 1-2.1 mm wide. Nerves: Several on both surfaces.

Beaks: One-fourth to one-third the length of the body, usually greater than 

1.2 mm long; the upper portion terete, smooth, hyaline-tipped.

ACHENES: Ovate, lenticular, short-stipitate, brown, 1.2-1.8 mm long, 

0.7-1.1 mm wide. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Common, montane. Yellow pine 

forests, alpine fell fields, meadows, and open slopes, usually in dry soil. 

From 1,400 m to high elevations. Oregon, California, and Nevada 

(Sierra Nevada Mountains). June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 1.
36 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex aenea. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, (D) achenes. 

B through D: Left and center—dorsal views; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 37

Carex aenea Fern.

Bronze sedge, Fremont sedge

HABIT: Densely tufted from a short, fibrillose root system. Culms: Slender, smooth, wiry, flexuous at the tip, 2-12 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, 

aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 3-6, borne on the lower half of the culm. Blades: Flat, soft,

2-4 mm wide. Sheaths: Tight, green- and white-mottled dorsally, thin and 

hyaline ventrally, shallowly concave to truncate at the mouth.

BRACTS: Lowest sheathless, somewhat setaceous-prolonged, shorter 

than the inflorescence; upper often inconspicuous.

SPIKES: 4-10(18), gynaecandrous, sessile, mostly clavate-based and 

separate or the upper 2-3 approximate, forming a flexuous, moniliform 

pale green to stramineous or medium brown inflorescence 1.5-8 cm long; 

perigynia ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate to broadly lanceolate with an acute tip, 

nearly as large as the perigynia and concealing them, largely hyalinescarious except for the firmer midrib, stramineous to medium brown with 

narrow, hyaline margins.

PERIGYNIA: Ovate, concavo-convex or plano-convex, wing-margined, 

serrulate above the middle, dull green or pale greenish, becoming brownish or stramineous, 3.5-5 mm long, (1.5)1.7-2.5 mm wide. Nerves: 4-9 

dorsally, often longitudinally more or less wrinkled or ribbed-sulcate; 0 to 

8 and weak ventrally. Beaks: Tapered, flat, serrulate, one-half the length 

of the body, obliquely cleft, bidentate.

ACHENES: Broadly oval, lenticular, dull yellowish brown or medium 

brown, 1.5-2 mm long, 1-1.7 mm wide. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Infrequent or local in moist or wet 

places. Valleys and plains to moderate elevations in the mountains. 

Yukon to Labrador, south to British Columbia, Idaho (rare), Montana, 

and east to Connecticut. May-July.

SIMILAR SPECIES: C. aenea—Inflorescence moniliform; individual 

spikes separate, clavate, ovoid, greenish; pistillate scales stramineous or 

brown; perigynium with a broad, rounded base. C. praticola—Inflorescence 

generally flexuous; individual spikes approximate, oblong, brownish; pistillate scales brown; perigynium with a tapered base.
38 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex albonigra. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 39

Carex albonigra Mack.

Black-and-white scaled sedge

HABIT: Loosely tufted from short rhizomes. Culms: Stiff and erect, 

reddish-tinged at the base, 1-3 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, phyllopodic,

dried leaves of the previous year conspicuous.

LEAVES: 6-12, clustered toward the base. Blades: Firm, short, flat, grayish green, seldom over 10 cm long, mostly 2-7 mm wide. Sheaths: Thin 

and hyaline ventrally, concave or V-shaped at the mouth.

BRACTS: Lowest leaflike, sheathless or short-sheathing, brownish red 

tinged at the base, equaling or shorter than the inflorescence; upper 

reduced.

SPIKES: 2-4, oblong, sessile or short-pedunculate, individually distinguishable, closely aggregated into a headlike inflorescence. Terminal:

Gynaecandrous, 10-15(20) mm long, 6-8 mm wide. Lateral: Pistillate, 

closely flowered, 8-10 mm long, 4-6 mm wide; perigynia black or reddish 

black, appressed or ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Broadly ovate with an acute to obtuse tip, equaling or shorter than the perigynia, usually concealing them, dark reddish 

brown or blackish purple with the upper margins often white-hyaline.

PERIGYNIA: Broadly elliptic-obovate to ovate, rounded to somewhat 

tapered at the base, slightly flattened, minutely papillate-roughened 

toward the beak, membranous, substipitate, reddish black, 2.5-3.5 mm 

long, 1.3-2 mm wide. Nerves: Absent except for the 2 marginal nerves.

Beaks: Obscurely bidentate, 0.1-0.5 mm long.

ACHENES: Trigonous, sessile, 1.3-1.9 mm long, 0.7-1.3 mm wide.

Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Frequent on open, often dry or rocky 

slopes and summits at high elevations. Alaska and Yukon south to 

Washington and California and east through Idaho, Nevada (White Pine 

and Elko Counties), Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado. July-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 2.
40 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex alma. (A) Pistillate scales, (B) perigynia, (C) achenes, (D) inflorescence. 

A through C: Left and center—dorsal views; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 41

Carex alma Bailey

Bountiful sedge

HABIT: Densely clustered without creeping rhizomes. Culms: Sharply 

triangular, roughened above, 3-12 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: Clustered toward the base. Blades: Flat or channeled, thick, 

3-6 mm wide, strongly serrulate along the margins. Sheaths: Tight, thin, 

purplish dotted ventrally, slightly convex at the mouth.

BRACTS: Small and inconspicuous, sheathless; lowest sometimes elongate 

and setaceous-tipped.

SPIKES: Numerous, sessile, androgynous, densely aggregated into an 

interrupted oblong or cylindrical head 3-15 cm long, 1-2 cm wide; perigynia 

appressed or ascending-spreading.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate with an acute to awned tip, about equaling or exceeding the perigynia, greenish or partly castaneous along the 

median with broad white-hyaline margins.

PERIGYNIA: Ovate to oblong-ovate, round-truncate at the base, strongly 

plano-convex, thin-walled, spongy at the base, narrowly sharp-margined 

and serrulate above, substipitate, brown or partly greenish to almost black 

at maturity, 3-4.2 mm long, 1.5-2.3 mm wide. Nerves: Several dorsally, 

none ventrally. Beaks: Flat, somewhat abruptly contracted, serrulate, 

bidentate, 0.6-1.4 mm long.

ACHENES: Ovoid, lenticular, substipitate, reddish brown at maturity, 

1.5-2.5 mm long, 0.9-1.8 mm wide, jointed to the style. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Frequent around springs, along 

streams, and in other wet places. Low to moderate elevations in southern Nevada, western Arizona, Utah (Washington County), and the central 

and southern Sierra Nevada Mountains, central and southern coast, and 

southeastern desert mountains of California. May-July.
42 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex amplifolia. (A) Pistillate scales, (B) perigynia, (C) achenes, 

(D) inflorescence. A through C: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 43

Carex amplifolia Boott

Ample-leaved sedge, big-leaf sedge

HABIT: Culms arising singly or few together from long, stout, creeping 

rhizomes. Culms: Coarse and stout, sharply triangular, usually dark red 

tinged toward the base, 5-10 dm tall, somewhat aphyllopodic, dry leaves 

of the previous year present.

LEAVES: 6-12, well distributed along the culm. Blades: Flat, septatenodulose, light to glaucous-green, 8-20 mm wide. Sheaths: Hispidulous 

dorsally, thin and hyaline ventrally, V-shaped at the mouth.

BRACTS: Leafy, slightly sheathing; lowest usually surpassing the 

inflorescence.

SPIKES: Several, elongate, well separated, greenish brown. Staminate:

Terminal, linear, short-peduncled, 5-8 cm long, sometimes with a smaller 

staminate spike at its base. Pistillate: 3-6, lateral, linear-cylindric, closely 

flowered, short-peduncled or sessile, 3-14 cm long, 6-7 mm wide; the upper approximate; the lower more or less separate; perigynia numerous, 

spreading.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Oblong-ovate to lanceolate with an obtuse, acute 

to acuminate, or awned tip; narrower than and either shorter to longer 

than the perigynia; brownish red with a lighter 3-nerved center, darker 

scarious margins, and a hyaline apex.

PERIGYNIA: Ovoid, inflated but tending to collapse around the achene 

and becoming somewhat trigonous, thin-walled, membranous, glabrous, 

brownish green, 2.6-3.5 mm long, 1.2-2 mm wide. Nerves: 2-ribbed, otherwise nerveless. Beaks: Abruptly contracted, conic, more or less excurved, 

bidentulate or bidentate, usually hyaline tipped, 0.8-1.2 mm long.

ACHENES: Broadly ovoid or obovoid, trigonous with thickened angles, 

granular, substipitate, brown, 1.4-2 mm long, 1-1.5 mm wide. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Swamps, bogs, and other wet places, 

from lowlands to moderate elevations in the mountains. British Columbia to Oregon, California, and Idaho north of the Snake River Plain. Frequent and locally plentiful in the western portion of its range. May-July.

DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS: C. amplifolia is characterized by 

its combination of stout, winged stems, broad leaves, and narrow spikes 

with many small, dull, greenish brown perigynia.
44 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex angustata. (A) Pistillate scales (center scale with perigynium), (B) perigynia, 

(C) achenes, (D) inflorescences. A through C: Left and center—dorsal views; 

right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 45

Carex angustata Boott

Narrow fruit sedge

SYNONYM: C. eurycarpa Holm.

HABIT: Loosely cespitose or densely tufted from stout, short-creeping, 

scaly rhizomes, often forming dense swards. Culms: Reddish tinged at 

the base, 4-9 dm tall, 4-5 mm thick, exceeding the leaves, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 3-4, borne on the lower one-fourth of the culm. Blades: Flat with 

revolute margins, papillate, 2-7 mm wide. Sheaths: Reddish ventrally, hispidulous dorsally, the lower ones breaking and becoming cross-filamentose.

BRACTS: Leaflike, sheathless, equaling or exceeding the inflorescence.

SPIKES: 3-6, elongate, remote, brown. Staminate: Terminal, linear, 

3-4 cm long, 5 mm wide, peduncled, sometimes with 1 or 2 small lateral 

staminate spikes near its base. Pistillate: 2-4, lateral, sometimes androgynous, erect, sessile or short-peduncled, densely flowered, 2.5-4.5 cm 

long, 5 mm wide; perigynia appressed-ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Lanceolate with acute to cuspidate tip, equaling 

or exceeding and narrower than the perigynia, reddish black or brown 

with a paler midrib.

PERIGYNIA: Obovate to suborbicular-obovate, rounded at the substipitate base, rounded and abruptly apiculate at the apex, unequally biconvex, 

slightly inflated, granular-roughened, resinous-dotted, brownish, 2.1-3 mm 

long, 1.2-2 mm wide. Nerves: 3-7 on each surface, prominent or weakly 

striated; margins sharp-nerved, often with a few stiff, deciduous cilia when 

immature. Beaks: Slender, entire, or slightly emarginate, 0.2-0.5 mm long.

ACHENES: Obovate, lenticular, apiculate, substipitate, brownish, 

1-1.5 mm long, 0.7-1.3 mm wide. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Occasional. Wet meadows, margins 

of streams, and lake shores. Middle elevations. Washington to Oregon, 

northern California, central Idaho, and western Montana. May-July.
46 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex aquatilis. (A) Pistillate scales, (B) perigynia, (C) achenes, 

(D) inflorescence. A through C: Left and center—dorsal views; 

right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 47

Carex aquatilis Wahl.

Water sedge

HABIT: Culms arising singly or few together from stout, scaly rhizomes.

Culms: Erect, slender, obtusely to sharply angled, reddish tinged at the 

base, 1-15 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, phyllopodic, dried leaves of the 

previous year present.

LEAVES: 8-15, erect. Blades: Long-tapering, flat, light green to glaucousgreen. Sheaths: Dorsally slightly hispidulous or smooth; ventrally thin 

and membranous-white when young, becoming reddish- or brownishdotted distally when mature; concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: Lowest leaflike, sheathless, 7-25 cm long, greater than half 

the length of the inflorescence or more often equaling or exceeding it; 

upper reduced.

SPIKES: 3-7, oblong or linear-cylindrical. Terminal: 1-3, staminate, 

linear, 1.25 cm long, 2-3 mm wide. Lateral: Pistillate or the upper ones 

often androgynous, erect, sessile, closely flowered, 1-4 cm long, 2.5-4 mm 

wide; lowest spikes often long-peduncled, arising from near the inflorescence base.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate to oblong-ovate with obtuse to acuminate 

tip, shorter or longer than the perigynia and normally much narrower; reddish brown to purplish black with paler midrib, often white-hyaline-tipped.

PERIGYNIA: Oval to obovate, unequally biconvex, somewhat flattened, 

commonly speckled or suffused with reddish brown on a pale background, 

sessile or short-stipitate, 2-3.6 mm long, 1.2-2.2 mm wide. Nerves: Marginal only. Beaks: Entire, 0.1-0.3 mm long.

ACHENES: Broadly obovate, abruptly short-apiculate, lenticular, substipitate, yellowish to brownish black, 1-1.8 mm long, 0.7-1.6 mm wide.

Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Common. Wet meadows, swamps, 

ponds, lakeshores, and streambanks from foothills to near timberline. 

Circumboreal at high latitudes. In North America extending south through 

the Cascade Mountains to California and east to Nebraska. In appropriate 

habitats throughout the Intermountain area. June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 3.
48 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex arapahoensis. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia. B and C: 

Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 49

Carex arapahoensis Clokey

Arapaho sedge

HABIT: Densely tufted without creeping rhizomes. Culms: Sharply 

triangular and roughened beneath the head, 1.5-4 dm tall, exceeding the 

leaves, slightly aphyllopodic, old leaf bases persistent.

LEAVES: 5-8, clustered toward the base. Blades: Slenderly longtapering distally, flat, thin but firm, 2.3-4 mm wide. Sheaths: Tight, 

hyaline ventrally, usually concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: Lowest scalelike with the midrib broad and indurated toward 

the base and excurrent as a serrulate awn, sheathless, chartaceous, stramineous, shorter than the inflorescence; upper bracts reduced.

SPIKES: 3-6, gynaecandrous, sessile, 8-12 mm long, densely aggregated 

into a brown, subglobose head 1-2 cm in diameter; anthers long-persistent; 

perigynia appressed-ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate to broadly ovate with an obtuse to acute 

tip, appressed, similar in size to the perigynia and nearly concealing them 

or shorter and narrower, dark chestnut brown with white-hyaline apex 

and upper margins.

PERIGYNIA: Ovate to obovate, widest and serrulate-margined above the 

middle, abruptly tapering at the apex, plano-convex to very flat, wingmargined, often shallowly puckered ventrally, 4-5.5 mm long, 2-2.7 mm 

wide, dark reddish brown, brown, stramineous, or partly greenish. Nerves:

Numerous and fine on both faces or nerveless. Beaks: Serrulate except at 

the tip, 1 mm long; tip very short, terete, white-hyaline, obliquely cleft, 

obscurely bidentate.

ACHENES: Broadly oval, lenticular, 1.6-2.1 mm long, 1-1.5 mm wide.

Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Occasional to frequent on open, 

often rocky slopes above timberline. Southern Wyoming, Utah (La Sal 

Mountains), and Colorado. July-August.
50 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex arcta. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, (D) achenes. 

B through D: Left and center—dorsal views; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 51

Carex arcta Boott

Bear sedge, clustered sedge, northern clustered sedge

HABIT: Plants densely tufted from very short rhizomes. Culms: Sharply 

triangular, 1-8 dm tall, shorter than the leaves, slightly aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: Clustered toward the base. Blades: Flat, light green, 1.5-4 

mm wide. Sheaths: Thin and hyaline ventrally, brownish-tinged at the 

truncate mouth; lower sheaths at least sparsely red-dotted ventrally.

BRACTS: Lowest sheathless, setaceous-prolonged to 5 cm; upper short 

and inconspicuous.

SPIKES: 4-15, gynaecandrous, sessile, 5-10 mm long, crowded in a 

dense, pale green to greenish brown, oblong to elongate head 1.5-4 cm 

long; upper spikes crowded; lower spikes well-differentiated; staminate 

flowers inconspicuous; perigynia spreading-ascending to widely spreading at maturity.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate with an acute tip, shorter than the perigynia, largely hyaline-scarious, brownish to nearly colorless with a firm, 

light brownish green midvein.

PERIGYNIA: Ovate or lance-ovate, rounded and somewhat spongy at 

the stipitate base, plano-convex, thin-edged, not winged, distally serrulate from above the middle, greenish-stramineous with greener margins, 

becoming greenish brown at maturity, 2-3.4 mm long, 1-1.2 mm wide.

Nerves: Several dorsally, few or none ventrally. Beaks: Tapered, flat, 

serrulate, bidentate, 0.6-1.2 mm long.

ACHENES: Obovate to ovate, lenticular, slightly tapered to a substipitate base, stramineous to brownish, 1.2-1.6 mm long, 0.8-1.1 mm wide.

Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Occasional. Streambanks, wet meadows, swampy woods, thickets, and other wet places. Lowlands to near 

timberline. Southern Yukon to Quebec, south to Washington, Oregon, 

northern California (coast ranges), northern and central Idaho, and northwestern Montana and east to Minnesota and New York. June-August.
52 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex atherodes. (A) Pistillate scales, (B) perigynia, (C) achenes, 

(D) inflorescence. A through C: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 53

Carex atherodes Sprengel

Awned sedge, slough sedge

HABIT: Loosely cespitose from coarse, deep-seated, creeping rhizomes.

Culms: Sharply triangular, reddish-tinged at the base, 3-15 dm tall, 

aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: Few to several to a culm, not clustered at the base. Blades:

Thin, flat, strongly septate-nodulose, glabrous above, sparsely hairy 

toward the base, dull green, 3-12 mm wide. Sheaths: Hairy, brownishor reddish-tinged, deeply concave at the mouth; basal sheath becoming 

filamentose at maturity.

BRACTS: Lower leaflike, sheathing, exceeding the inflorescence; upper 

reduced, not sheathing.

SPIKES: Several. Upper: 2-6, staminate, erect, linear, sessile or 

short-pedunculate, 2-6(10) cm long, 3-5 mm wide; the upper contiguous; 

the lower remote, some may have a few perigynia at the base. Lower:

2-4, pistillate, erect, cylindric, nearly sessile, closely flowered, remote, 

2-12 cm long, 8-15 mm wide; upper often staminate at the apex; perigynia 

ascending-spreading at maturity.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Lanceolate to lance-ovate, abruptly rough-aristate, short-ciliate, from shorter to longer than the perigynia, dull reddish 

brown or stramineous with a 3-nerved green center and hyaline margins.

PERIGYNIA: Lanceolate to lance-ovate, rounded at the short-stipitate 

base, turgid-inflated below, more flattened at the beak, firm, subcoriaceous, 

glabrous, pale greenish to stramineous, 7-10 mm long, 1.7-2.5 mm wide.

Nerves: 12-20 on each surface, conspicuous; prominent marginal nerves 

lacking. Beaks: Somewhat flattened, 1.2-3 mm long, smoothly tapered 

with long, slender, divergent teeth.

ACHENES: Obovoid, rounded above, tapering toward the base, trigonous 

with blunt angles, brown, 2-3.2 mm long, 1.2-1.5 mm wide, continuous 

with the straight or slightly flexuous, persistent, bony style. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Marshes, edges of lakes and rivers 

in shallow to rather deep water from lowlands to high elevations in 

the mountains. Circumboreal. In North America from Yukon to Ontario 

and south to Oregon, California, southern Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, 

Indiana, Missouri, and New York. June-September.

SIMILAR SPECIES: C. atherodes—Spikes longer (staminate 2-6[10] cm 

long; pistillate 2-12 cm long), not strictly unisexual; perigynia glabrous, 

longer (7-10 mm long); beaks tapering with equal, diverging teeth. C. 

sheldonii—Spikes shorter (staminate 2-3.5 cm long; pistillate 2-6 cm 

long), strictly unisexual; perigynia hairy, shorter (5-6 [8] mm long); beak 

strongly tapering with unequal teeth that are not divergent.
54 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex athrostachya. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left and center—dorsal views; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 55

Carex athrostachya Olney

Slenderbeaked sedge

HABIT: Densely tufted without creeping rhizomes. Culms: Slender, 

0.5-10 dm tall, equaling or exceeding the leaves, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 2-5, usually clustered on the lower one-third of the culm.

Blades: Flat, firm, yellowish green to bright green, 1.5-4 mm wide.

Sheaths: Hyaline ventrally, truncate to slightly concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: Lowest usually equaling or surpassing the inflorescence, 

spreading or ascending, setaceous-prolonged, 4-10 cm long; upper reduced 

and scalelike.

SPIKES: 4-20, gynaecandrous, sessile, 6-10 mm long, closely crowded 

in a green, stamineous, or medium brown ovoid or globose-ovoid head 

1-2.5 cm long and 7-20 mm wide; perigynia appressed-ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Oblong-ovate with an acute or short-cuspidate 

tip, slightly shorter than the perigynia, brown to reddish brown with a 

green or pale center and white-hyaline margins.

PERIGYNIA: Lanceolate or narrowly ovate, flattened or somewhat 

plano-convex, tapered to the base, wing-margined and serrulate distally, 

membranous, 2.8-4.8 mm long, 0.9-1.8 mm wide. Nerves: Several, faint, 

but often darker brown toward the base dorsally; few or lacking ventrally.

Beaks: Subterete, narrowly margined or marginless, usually entire or 

obliquely cleft and shallowly bidentate in the distal 0.5-0.8 mm.

ACHENES: Oblong-oval, lenticular, 0.8-1.2 mm long, 0.7-1.1 mm wide.

Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Common to locally abundant in moist 

or wet places, often colonizing below the high water line of reservoirs and 

in ephemeral pools. Lowlands to moderate elevations in the mountains. South from Alaska to California and east from Arizona to North 

Dakota. Found in appropriate habitats throughout the Intermountain 

Region. May-July.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 1.
56 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex atrosquama. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left and center—dorsal views; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 57

Carex atrosquama Mack.

Dark-scaled sedge

HABIT: Densely cespitose from short, slender rhizomes. Culms: Slender, erect or nodding at maturity, dark reddish-tinged at the base, 

1.5-5 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, phyllopodic, dried leaves of the 

previous year conspicuous.

LEAVES: 7-10, clustered near the base. Blades: Attenuate, firm, flat 

with slightly revolute margins, 1.5-3.5 mm wide. Sheaths: Concave at 

the mouth; lower sheaths sparingly filamentose; upper sheaths whitish 

or yellowish white ventrally.

BRACTS: Lowest leaflike, sheathless, shorter to longer than the inflorescence; upper reduced.

SPIKES: 3-4, erect, oblong, densely flowered, greenish gold, 6-20 mm 

long, 5-6 mm wide, forming an oblong head 2.5-4 cm long and 0.8-1.2 cm 

wide. Terminal: Gynaecandrous, clavate at the base, sessile, approximate. Lateral: Pistillate, short-pedunculate; lowest somewhat separate; 

perigynia appressed-ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Broadly ovate-oblong with an obtuse or acute 

tip, shorter and slightly narrower than the perigynia, dark brown to black, 

the midvein obsolete and upper margins slightly hyaline.

PERIGYNIA: Narrowly oblong, obcompressed to plano-convex, granularroughened above, olive green to yellowish brown, somewhat reddishspotted, 4-4.5 mm long, 1.5-1.8 mm wide. Nerves: Lacking or marginal 

only. Beaks: Reddish black, sharp-edged, terete at the tip, shallowly 

bidentate, 0.5 mm long.

ACHENES: Obovoid, trigonous, slightly granular, stipitate, dull yellowish 

brown, 1.5-2 mm long, 1 mm wide. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Infrequent and local in moist to dry 

mountain meadows, forest openings, and on rocky alpine slopes at high 

elevations. British Columbia and Alberta south to Oregon, Idaho, Utah 

(Uinta Mountains), western Montana, and Colorado. July-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 2.
58 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex aurea. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 59

Carex aurea Nutt.

Golden sedge, golden-fruited sedge

SYNONYMS: C. garberi Bailey; C. hassei Bailey.

HABIT: Loosely cespitose from long, slender rhizomes. Culms: Slender, 

erect, 0.3-5.5 dm tall, often shorter than the leaves, especially in smaller 

plants, phyllopodic or somewhat aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 4-7, clustered near the base. Blades: Flat but channeled, attenuate at the apex, 1-4(5) mm wide. Sheaths: Thin and hyaline ventrally, 

truncate to shallowly concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: Leaflike, sheathing, well-developed, usually exceeding the 

inflorescence.

SPIKES: 4-6, linear-oblong, short-peduncled or sessile. Terminal: Staminate, sometimes gynaecandrous, rarely androgynous, linear, 3-10 

mm long. Lateral: Pistillate, 4-20 flowered, widely separate below 

and sometimes nearly basal, more or less approximate above; perigynia 

ascending-spreading.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate to orbicular, short cuspidate to obtusetipped, shorter and narrower than the perigynia and usually deciduous 

before them, 3-nerved, reddish brown with a wide pale or greenish center 

and narrow, white-hyaline margins.

PERIGYNIA: Orbicular-obovoid, sometimes broadly substipitate at the 

base, more or less rounded distally, whitish-papillate-glaucous on a light 

green background when young, often becoming fleshy, translucent and 

golden yellow or yellow orange to brownish at maturity, 1.7-3.0 mm long, 

1.5-2 mm wide. Nerves: Obscurely to prominently coarse-ribbed on both 

faces. Beaks: None, the orifice entire.

ACHENES: Lenticular, stipitate, brownish, 1.3-2.0 mm long, 1-1.6 mm 

wide. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Rather common in moist or wet places, 

meadows, bogs, and along streambanks. Lowlands to near timberline. 

Alaska to Newfoundland, south to California, Idaho, southern Nevada, Utah, 

northern New Mexico, Nebraska, northern Indiana, and Pennsylvania. 

April-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: C. garberi and C. hassei are sometimes distinguished from C. aurea. C. garberi—pistillate scales and perigynia crowded; 

scales red brown to purplish, often covering the perigynia; bract sheath 

mouth V-shaped; spikes densely clustered. C. hassei—pistillate scales and 

perigynia usually not crowded; scales whitish to reddish brown, shorter 

than the periynia, appressed, and persisting for a time after the perigynia 

fall; bract sheath mouth U-shaped; spikes not densely clustered.
60 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex backii. (A) Inflorescences, (B) perigynia, (C) achenes, (D) pistillate scales. 

B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 61

Carex backii Boott

Back sedge

SYNONYM: C. saximontana Mack.

HABIT: Cespitose, forming dense mats from very short rhizomes. Culms:

Slender, weak, narrowly winged and serrulate on the angles, enlarged 

upward beneath the inflorescence, 1-2.5 dm tall, shorter than the leaves, 

slightly phyllopodic.

LEAVES: 2-6, clustered near the base. Blades: Flat, thick, minutely 

papillate, deep green, 2-6 mm wide. Sheaths: Thin and hyaline ventrally, 

truncate at the mouth.

BRACTS: None. Lower pistillate scales somewhat bractlike.

SPIKES: 1-3, androgynous, few-flowered; lower spikes, if present, shortpedunculate and basal; staminate portion inconspicuous and surpassed 

by the uppermost perigynium; perigynia erect on a winged, zigzag rachis.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Bractlike or leaflike, the lowest up to 4 cm long, 

oblong-obovate to linear, long tapering, obtuse-tipped or cuspidate, connate above the middle, tightly enclosing the rachis and concealing the 

perigynia, many-nerved, green.

PERIGYNIA: Oblong-ovoid to oblong-orbicular, two-keeled, membranous 

with a spongy base, substipitate, smooth, greenish, 4-6 mm long, 2.5 mm 

wide. Nerves: Numerous, faint, almost lacking. Beaks: Stout, tapering, 

two-edged, smooth, entire or obliquely cleft, obsolete to 1 mm long.

ACHENES: Triangular-globose, granular, stipitate, yellowish green to 

black, about 3 mm long. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Dry forests and riparian woods at 

mid elevations. British Columbia to Quebec, south to Washington, 

Oregon (Wallowa Mountains and Steens Mountain), Idaho, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Massachusetts, and New York. Infrequent in 

the Intermountain Region. May-July.
62 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex bebbii. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, (D) achenes. 

B through D: Left and center—dorsal views; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 63

Carex bebbii Olney

Bebb sedge

HABIT: Densely tufted without creeping rhizomes. Culms: Slender, 

roughened on the angles below the head, 2-9 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, 

distinctly aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 3-4, scattered on the lower one-half to one-third of the culm.

Blades: Flat, 2-4.5 mm wide. Sheaths: Narrow, thin and hyaline ventrally, usually concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: Lowest sheathless, setaceous-prolonged, shorter than the 

inflorescence; upper reduced.

SPIKES: 3-12, gynaecandrous, sessile, 5-9 mm long, aggregated into an 

ovoid to linear-oblong, pale green to stramineous head 1.5-3 cm long and 

0.8-1.5 cm wide; internodes short; perigynia crowded, stiffly ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Oblong-lanceolate, somewhat shorter and narrower than the perigynia, mostly hyaline-scarious with a firm green to 

brown midrib or sometimes brown with a lighter center, occasionally with 

very narrow and hyaline margins.

PERIGYNIA: Ovate, rounded at the base, mostly flattened to plano-convex, wing-margined, serrulate-margined to below the middle, dull green 

to brownish or stramineous, 2.7-3.7 mm long, 1.1-2 mm wide. Nerves:

Numerous and fine dorsally, lacking or obscure at the base ventrally.

Beaks: Gradually tapered, flat, serrulate, obliquely cleft, bidentate, 

0.75-1 mm long.

ACHENES: Broadly oval, lenticular, short-stipitate, brown, 1.1-1.5 mm 

long, 0.6-0.8 mm wide. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Infrequent and local in wet to swampy 

meadows, swales, and on banks of ditches from lowlands to moderate 

elevations. British Columbia to Newfoundland and south to northern 

Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Illinois, and New Jersey. Found in 

isolated locations in Utah (Uinta Mountains) and Colorado. June-July.

SIMILAR SPECIES: C. bebbii—Perigynia short-ascending and slightly 

spreading, giving the spikes a ragged outline; pistillate scale shorter and 

narrower than the perigynium; perigynium more narrowly wing-margined 

to the rounded base; beak short, gradually tapering. C. scoparia—Pistillate scales and perigynia beaks appressed-ascending giving the spikes a 

smooth outline; pistillate scale long, narrow, awn-tipped; perigynium 

distinctly wing-margined, slightly tapering to the base; beak long, more 

abruptly tapering.
64 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex bella. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, (D) achenes. 

B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 65

Carex bella Bailey

Beautiful sedge, showy sedge

HABIT: Cespitose from short-creeping, fibrillose rhizomes. Culms: Slender, cinnamon brown and more or less reddish-tinged at the base, 5-9 

dm tall, exceeding the leaves, phyllopodic, dried leaves of the previous 

year evident.

LEAVES: 8-12 on the lower one-half of the culm. Blades: Erect, flat, 

3-6 mm wide. Sheaths: Dull reddish-brown-tinged or dotted ventrally, 

concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: Lowest leaflike, sheathing, 2.5 cm long, equaling or exceeding 

the inflorescence; upper reduced.

SPIKES: 3-4, linear to oblong-linear, bicolored with green and reddish 

brown, 12-25 mm long, 4-5.5 mm wide, approximate, but not crowded. 

Terminal: Short-pedunculate, mostly gynaecandrous, sometimes the 

lower half staminate. Lateral: Gynaecandrous with few staminate 

flowers, closely flowered; the upper contiguous, short-pedunculate; the 

lower strongly separate, drooping on slender, somewhat rough peduncles 

1.5-4 cm long; perigynia appressed.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate with obtuse to acute tip, shorter than the 

perigynia, dark brown or generally reddish brown with pale midrib and 

shining white-hyaline margins.

PERIGYNIA: Broadly oval to oblong-oval or obovoid, rounded to rather 

pointed at the base, rounded at the apex, somewhat compressed or flattened, distended by the mature achene, membranous, smooth, puncticulate 

(at high magnification), greenish, rarely purplish-tinged, 2.5-4 mm long, 

1.7-2 mm wide. Nerves: 2-3, obscure or lacking on each face; marginal 

nerves present. Beaks: Abrupt, purplish to brownish, shallowly bidentate, 

0.2-0.5 mm long.

ACHENES: Ovoid or oblong-ovoid, trigonous, granular, substipitate, yellowish brown, 1.8-2.4 mm long, 1.75 mm wide, nearly filling the perigynia.

Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Occasional to frequent in moist 

woods, meadows, open slopes, and streambanks at high elevations in 

the mountains. Utah and northern Colorado to Arizona and New Mexico.

June-August.
66 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex bipartita. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left and center—dorsal views; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 67

Carex bipartita All.

Two-parted sedge, two-tipped sedge

HABIT: Loosely cespitose from short rhizomes. Culms: Slender, 5-30 cm 

tall, exceeding the leaves, slightly aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: Clustered toward the base. Blades: Flat with revolute margins, 

1-2.5 mm wide. Sheaths: Tight, hyaline ventrally, truncate at the mouth.

BRACTS: Inconspicuous, short, sheathless, largely hyaline-scarious, 

sometimes shortly awn-tipped.

SPIKES: 1-4, gynaecandrous, sessile, distinct, reddish brown, 4-6 mm 

long, aggregated into an oblong or ovoid head, 6-15 mm long; perigynia 

(10)15-30, closely ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Oblong-ovate with an obtuse tip, about equaling 

and largely concealing the perigynia, chestnut brown or reddish-tinged 

with yellowish-brown centers and wide, white-hyaline margins.

PERIGYNIA: Elliptic to obovate, gradually narrowed at the apex, 

plano-convex or almost flat, sometimes thin-margined, substipitate, 

minutely rough-textured, yellowish brown, largely paler than the scale, 

2-3 mm long, 1-1.5 mm wide. Nerves: Fine or obscure on both faces. Beaks:

Smooth, hyaline-tipped, 0.5 mm long; dorsal suture evident, extending 

well into the distal portion of the perigynium.

ACHENES: Oval or obovate, lenticular, sessile, 1.2-1.5 mm long, 

0.85 mm wide. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Wet meadows and swamps at high 

elevations. Circumboreal. In North America from British Columbia east 

across Alberta to Quebec and south through Utah (Uinta Mountains), 

northern Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. July-August.
68 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex brevior. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, (D) achenes. 

B through D: Left (and B, center)—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 69

Carex brevior (Dewey) Mack.

Brevior sedge, short-beaked sedge

HABIT: Densely tufted without creeping rhizomes. Culms: Sharply triangular, 2-10 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 3-6, clustered on the lower one-third of the culm. Blades: Flat 

or canaliculate, firm and coarse, 1.5-4 mm wide. Sheaths: Tight, conspicuously white-hyaline ventrally, truncate at the mouth.

BRACTS: Lowest sheathless, setaceous-prolonged, shorter than the 

inflorescence; upper reduced.

SPIKES: 3-10, gynaecandrous, sessile, pale green to stramineous or 

tan, 6-10 mm long, borne in a moniliform or interrupted to occasionally 

more congested head 1.5-5 cm long; perigynia crowded, stiffly ascending 

or spreading-ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate or ovate-lanceolate with an acuminate tip, 

narrower and shorter than the perigynia, reaching to the middle or tip of 

the beak, yellowish brown with a green center and narrow hyaline margins.

PERIGYNIA: Broadly ovate to suborbicular, broadest near the middle, 

flattened, plano-convex, or slightly concavo-convex, strongly wingmargined to the rounded or subtruncate base with the margins finely serrulate below, firm, coriaceous, green to greenish white or tan throughout, 

3.2-5.5 mm long, (2) 2.4-3.4 mm wide. Nerves: Several to many on each 

face, prominent dorsally, faint or absent ventrally. Beaks: Flat, abruptly 

narrowed, winged, finely serrulate, less than one-third the length of the 

body, strongly bidentate, 0.8-1.5 mm long.

ACHENES: Orbicular, lenticular, substipitate, yellowish brown at maturity, 1.6-2.2 mm long, 1.3-1.9 mm wide. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Frequent in moist meadows and 

swales, moist or dry openings, and along streambanks at moderate 

elevations. British Columbia to Quebec and south, chiefly east of the 

Continental Divide, but also along major watercourses in Washington, 

Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. June-July.
70 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex breweri var. paddoensis. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, 

(C) perigynia, (D) achenes (center achene with rachilla). B through D: 

Left (and D, center)—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 71

Carex breweri Boott var. paddoensis (Suksd.) Cronq.

Brewer sedge

SYNONYM: C. engelmanii Bailey.

HABIT: Culms arising singly or few together from creeping rhizomes.

Culms: Slender, erect, terete to semi-terete, smooth, 0.5-3 dm tall, equaling or exceeding the leaves, slightly phyllopodic.

LEAVES: Crowded toward the base. Blades: Stiff, wiry, slender, involute 

or deeply channeled, glabrous or with slightly scaberulous margins, 1 

mm wide. Sheaths: Hyaline ventrally, truncate to concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: None.

SPIKES: Solitary, androgynous, stout, ellipsoid or ovoid, dark brown, 

1-2 cm long, 6-10 mm wide; staminate portion small, not easily distinguished from the pistillate; perigynia numerous, ascending or appressedascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate-oblong with an acute to acuminate tip, 

equaling or shorter than the perigynia, thin, 1-nerved, light to dark brown, 

pale or hyaline on the upper margins.

PERIGYNIA: Broadly ovate or elliptic, abruptly contracted at the apex, 

thin-walled or membranous, glabrous, dark brown, but light-colored at 

the base and at the apex, 4-7 mm long, 2.1-4.8 mm wide. Nerves: Absent 

or obscure. Beaks: Short, pale, obliquely cleft.

ACHENES: Trigonous, about 1-2 mm long, 0.8-1.2 mm wide, dark brown; 

rachilla well-developed, jointed to an elongate, more or less stout stipe.

Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: In wet or dry soil or talus at high 

elevations in the mountains. Along the Cascade-Sierra axis from southern British Columbia to California and adjacent Nevada. Rare in western 

Wyoming, Utah (Bear River, Wasatch, Uinta, and possibly Tushar ranges), 

and Colorado. July-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 4.
72 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex brunnescens. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left and center—dorsal views; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 73

Carex brunnescens (Pers.) Poiret

Brownish sedge

HABIT: Densely cespitose from short rhizomes. Culms: Slender, lax, 

2-6 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, slightly aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: Clustered near the base. Blades: Flat, thin, deep green, 

1-2.5 mm wide. Sheaths: Tight, thin and hyaline ventrally, concave at 

the mouth.

BRACTS: Lower sheathless, setaceous, generally shorter than to surpassing the inflorescence; upper inconspicuous.

SPIKES: 4-9, gynaecandrous, sessile, pale to golden brown or brown, 4-8 

mm long; lower generally remote; upper approximate; terminal clavate; 

perigynia 5-15, spreading at maturity.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate, with an acute tip, shorter than the 

perigynia, mostly white-hyaline or scarious with a firm, green midvein.

PERIGYNIA: Oval-ovate, broadest near the middle with raised margins, 

spongy-thickened below, plano-convex, the wall very thin distally and 

easily ruptured, not thin-edged, green to pale brown, 1.7-2.7 mm long, 

1-1.5 mm wide. Nerves: Several, fine dorsally, obscure or lacking ventrally.

Beaks: Serrulate, obliquely cleft, minutely bidentate, 0.5-0.7 mm long; 

dorsal suture prominent with a white-hyaline, slightly overlapping flap.

ACHENES: Ovate-orbicular, lenticular, yellowish to brownish, 1.2-1.5 

mm long, 1 mm wide; style jointed to the base. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Occasional to frequent in bogs and 

wet meadows at high elevations. Circumboreal. In North America from 

Alaska to Labrador extending south to Oregon, Idaho, Utah (Uinta Mountains), Wyoming, Colorado, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Georgia. 

Seldom collected in the Intermountain area. June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 5.
74 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex buxbaumii. (A) Pistillate scales, (B) perigynia, (C) achenes, 

(D) inflorescence. A through C: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 75

Carex buxbaumii Wahl.

Buxbaum sedge

HABIT: Loosely cespitose from long, slender rhizomes. Culms: Slender, 

erect, sharply triangular and rough above, 2.5-10 dm tall, strongly aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 2-4 on the lower one-half of the culm. Blades: Erect, thin, flat, 

sharply keeled, glabrous, bluish green, 1.5-4 mm wide. Sheaths: Yellowishbrown-tinged, purple-dotted ventrally, sometimes slightly thickened at the 

concave mouth; the lower breaking and becoming cross-fibrillose.

BRACTS: Sheathless, dark auricled; lowest shorter to longer than the 

inflorescence; upper reduced.

SPIKES: 2-5, erect, reddish black or bicolored with green and brown, approximate or the lower separate. Terminal: Gynaecandrous, clavate, 

short-peduncled, 1-3 cm long. Lateral: Pistillate, sessile, oblong-ovoid, 

5-20 mm long, 6-10 mm wide, closely flowered; perigynia ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Lanceolate to lance-ovate, tapering to an awn-tip, 

narrower and longer than the perigynia, reddish black or reddish brown 

with a pale midrib that extends to the apex.

PERIGYNIA: Elliptic or obovoid, triangular-biconvex, subcoriaceous, 

densely papillose, light gray green or glaucous green, 2.5-4.3 mm long, 

1.4-2.1 mm wide. Nerves: 6-8 on each surface, inconspicuous; marginal 

nerves present. Beaks: Reddish-black-tipped, bidentulate, 0.2 mm long.

ACHENES: Suborbicular-obovoid, trigonous, strongly punctate, brownish 

to blackish, 1.5-2.2 mm long, 1.1-1.5 mm wide. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Widespread, but uncommon and infrequently collected. Wet meadows, usually at forest edge, also in peat bogs, 

marshes, and sunny swamps from sea level to moderate elevations. 

Circumboreal. In North America from southern Alaska to Newfoundland 

and south to California, Nevada, central Idaho, Utah (Uinta Mountains), 

Colorado, Arkansas, and Georgia. June-August.

DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS: C. buxbaumii is characterized 

by its cross-fibrillose lower leaf sheaths; terminal gynacandrous, clavate 

spikes; dark, narrow pistillate scales exceeding the perigynia; papillate, 

more or less glaucous, short-beaked perigynia; and 3 stigmas.
76 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex canescens. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 77

Carex canescens L.

Gray sedge, pale sedge, silvery sedge

HABIT: Loosely to densely clustered on short rhizomes. Culms: Often 

lax and widely spreading, sharply triangular, equaling or exceeding the 

leaves, 1-8 dm tall, slightly aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: Clustered near the base. Blades: Flat, soft, glaucous-green, 

1.5-4 mm wide. Sheaths: Tight, thin and hyaline ventrally, concave at 

the mouth.

BRACTS: Sheathless, scarious, inconspicuous; lowest sometimes 

setaceous-tipped, shorter to longer than the inflorescence; upper reduced.

SPIKES: 4-8, gynaecandrous, sessile, silvery green, light green, pale 

gray or pale stramineous, 5-10 mm long, approximate to remote, aggregated into an elongated head 2-5 cm long; perigynia 10-30 per spike, 

appressed-ascending to spreading-ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Broadly to narrowly ovate, shorter and narrower 

than the perigynia, white-hyaline with a greenish midvein.

PERIGYNIA: Ovoid-oblong, spongy-thickened below, short stipitate, 

plano-convex, margins raised and smooth throughout or minutely serrulate and rough-papillate distally, light green to dull silver or stramineous, brownish golden yellow to dull brown, 1.8-3 mm long, 0.9-1.75 mm 

wide. Nerves: Fine or prominently dark-lined on both surfaces, fewer 

ventrally than dorsally. Beaks: Short, 0.2-0.5 mm long, gradually tapered, 

shallowly and obliquely cleft, dorsal suture short and inconspicuous or 

obsolete.

ACHENES: Oblong-obovate, lenticular, contracted at the base, substipitate, 1.2-1.5 mm long, 0.8-1 mm wide. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Wet meadows, bogs, swamps, and 

lake margins from lowlands to higher elevations. Circumboreal. In 

North America from Alaska to Newfoundland and south to California, 

Nevada (Elko County), Idaho, Utah, Arizona, New Jersey, and Virginia.

June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 5.
78 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex capillaris. (A) Pistillate scales, (B) perigynia, (C) achenes, (D) inflorescences. 

A through C: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 79

Carex capillaris L.

Hair sedge

HABIT: Plants densely tufted from short roots. Culms: Very slender, 

obtusely triangular, smooth, 0.3-6 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, strongly 

phyllopodic.

LEAVES: 5-8, clustered toward the base. Blades: Flat, thin but firm, 0.5-4 

mm wide. Sheaths: Becoming brownish with age, truncate at the mouth.

BRACTS: Lowest leaflike with a well-developed sheath, shorter to longer 

than the inflorescence; upper reduced.

SPIKES: 2-4, brown, linear-oblong on nodding or loosely spreading peduncles. Terminal: Staminate or rarely gynaecandrous, 4-10 mm long, 

0.75-1 mm wide. Lateral: Pistillate, more or less remote, 4-17 mm long, 

3-4 mm wide; perigynia 3-25, ascending, loosely arranged.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate, mostly obtuse at the apex, wider and 

shorter than the perigynia, closely appressed, early deciduous, thin, light 

brown or greenish, white-hyaline distally.

PERIGYNIA: Ovoid-lanceolate, obtusely trigonous, slightly ciliate and 

slightly serrulate toward the apex, stipitate, greenish brown or usually 

shiny brown to brownish olive green, 2-4 mm long, 0.75-1.2 mm wide.

Nerves: Obliquely 2-ribbed or lacking. Beaks: Conic, tapered, 1 mm long, 

hyaline-tipped, entire.

ACHENES: Obovoid, trigonous with blunt angles, substipitate, brownish 

to dark greenish brown, green on the angles, 1.2-1.5 mm long, 0.7 mm 

wide, jointed to the style. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Streambanks, wet meadows, and 

wet ledges from moderate to high elevations in the mountains, up to 

about timberline. Circumboreal. In North America from southern British 

Columbia to north-central Washington (Okanogan County), northeastern 

Oregon (Wallowa Mountains), northeastern Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, New 

Mexico, Michigan, and New York. June-August.
80 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex capitata. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, (D) achenes 

(achene on left with rachilla). B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 81

Carex capitata L.

Capitate sedge

HABIT: Loosely to densely tufted from short-creeping, scaly, purplish 

red rhizomes. Culms: Slender, wiry, purplish red at base, 10-35 cm tall, 

shorter to longer than the leaves, old leaves present, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 2-4, borne on the lower third of the culm, shorter to longer than 

the culms. Blades: Involute, filiform, stiff, glabrous or with scaberulous 

margins, pale green, 1 mm wide. Sheaths: Truncate at the mouth.

BRACTS: None.

SPIKES: Solitary, androgynous, globose or ovoid to lanceolate, generally brownish green, 4-15 mm long, 3-7 mm wide; perigynia spreading or 

ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Orbicular to broadly ovate with an obtuse tip, 

shorter and narrower than the perigynia, dark brown with broad whitehyaline margins and apex.

PERIGYNIA: Ovate to orbicular, sessile and broadly rounded below, 

plano-convex, thin-margined, 2-3.5 mm long, 1.3-2 mm wide. Nerves:

Absent or few dorsally. Beaks: Slender-conic, abruptly contracted, terete, 

glabrous, greenish or light to dark brown, 0.6-1 mm long, obliquely cleft, 

slightly hyaline-tipped.

ACHENES: Quadrate-ovate, lenticular, 1-1.8 mm long, 0.5-1.2 mm wide, 

partially filling the perigynium; rachilla well-developed. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Rare or local. Usually in open, wet 

places, but sometimes in drier sites at high elevations. Circumboreal. In 

North America from Alaska to Hudson Bay and irregularly southward to 

California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, and New Hampshire. July-August.
82 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex concinnoides. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 83

Carex concinnoides Mack.

Northwest sedge

HABIT: Loosely cespitose from a well-developed system of scaly, brownish black, creeping rhizomes. Culms: Slender, erect or somewhat curved, 

dark purplish brown at the base, 1.5-3.5 dm tall, varying from shorter to 

longer than the leaves, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 6-10, closely clustered near the base. Blades: Thick, firm, flat 

or channeled, 2-5 mm wide. Sheaths: Tight, thin and hyaline ventrally, 

truncate to shallowly concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: Bladeless and sheathless, shorter than the inflorescence; margins hyaline, purplish-red-tinged.

SPIKES: 2-4, linear to oblong, sessile or nearly so, bicolored with green 

and reddish purple. Terminal: Staminate, 8-22 mm long, 2-3 mm wide. 

Lateral: Pistillate, erect, approximate, l0-15 mm long, 4-5 mm wide, 

closely flowered; perigynia 5-10, ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate-lanceolate to obovate with an acute to 

acuminate tip, ciliate, equaling to or narrower and sometimes shorter than 

the perigynia, dark purplish red with conspicuous white-hyaline margins.

PERIGYNIA: Oblong-obovoid, obscurely trigonous, light green with copious, loose pubescence, 2.5-3 mm long, 1.5 mm wide. Nerves: Marginally 

ribbed, otherwise obscure or lacking. Beaks: Abrupt, often reddish purple, 

obliquely cleft, 0.5 mm long.

ACHENES: Oblong-obovoid, trigonous or tetragonous, rounded at the top, 

broadly tapered to the substipitate base, slenderly apiculate, greenish, 

becoming brownish at maturity, 2-3 mm long, 1.25 mm wide. Stigmas: 3 

or 4, long, slender, brownish at maturity.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Frequent to locally common in dry or 

moist woods or coniferous forests. Low to moderate elevations. British 

Columbia and Alberta south to northern California, central Idaho, and 

Montana. April-July.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 6.
84 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex crawei. (A) Pistillate scales, (B) perigynia, (C) achenes, (D) inflorescences. 

A through C: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 85

Carex crawei Dewey

Crawe sedge

HABIT: Culms arising singly or few together from well-developed, creeping rhizomes. Culms: Slender but stiff, 0.8-3(4) dm tall, exceeding the 

leaves, slightly phyllopodic.

LEAVES: 6-12. Blades: Stiff, thick, flat, usually recurved-spreading, 

roughened on the margins towards the apex, 1.5-3 mm wide. Sheaths:

Tight, hyaline ventrally, occasionally brown-dotted toward the mouth.

BRACTS: Lowest leaflike with well-developed sheath, shorter than the 

inflorescence; upper slightly reduced.

SPIKES: 3-5, narrowly oblong to cylindric, short- to long-pedunculate, 

green to brown. Terminal: Staminate, pedunculate, 1-3 cm long, 

2-3 mm wide. Lateral: Pistillate or androgynous, 1-3 cm long, 5-6 mm 

wide, closely flowered, widely separate, the lowest often nearly basal; 

perigynia 10-45, ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Broadly ovate with the midrib often excurrent, 

equaling or narrower and shorter than the perigynia, reddish brown with 

hyaline margins and green center.

PERIGYNIA: Ovoid or oblong-ovoid, rounded at the sessile base, sometimes flattened on the adaxial side, abruptly contracted at the apex, 

somewhat terete, yellowish green to light brown, often finely reddishbrown-speckled, 2-3.5 mm long, 1.25-2 mm wide. Nerves: Obscure to 

coarse on both faces, numerous. Beaks: Straight, entire or minutely 

bidentulate, 0.4 mm long.

ACHENES: Obovoid, trigonous, stipitate, brown, 1.3-2 mm long, 1.25 

mm wide; style deciduous, leaving a straight or bent-recurved apiculus.

Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Boggy meadows and wet places in 

foothills, valleys, and plains. Often associated with limestone and 

marlbogs. British Columbia to Quebec and south to Washington (reputedly), Utah (Kane County), Montana, Wyoming, Missouri, and New 

Jersey. Seldom collected in the Intermountain area. May-July.
86 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex crawfordii. (A) Inflorescence, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, (D) achenes. 

B through D: Left and center—dorsal views; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 87

Carex crawfordii Fern.

Crawford sedge

HABIT: Densely tufted without creeping rhizomes. Culms: Stiff, 1-8 dm 

tall, exceeding the leaves, distinctly aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 3-4, borne on the lower one-third of the culm. Blades: Flat or 

channeled, firm, 1-4 mm wide. Sheaths: Thin, hyaline ventrally, concave 

at the mouth.

BRACTS: Sheathless; lowest setaceous-prolonged, shorter to about equaling the inflorescence; upper short and inconspicuous.

SPIKES: 3-15, gynaecandrous, sessile, pale green to stramineous or 

tan, 5-10 mm long, closely aggregated into an oblong or linear-oblong inflorescence 1.2-3 cm long and 0.8-1.5 cm wide; perigynia erect-ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate to ovate-lanceolate, equaling to shorter 

and distally narrower than the perigynia, tan or light brown, mostly 

hyaline-scarious, firmer, and sometimes greenish along the midrib.

PERIGYNIA: Lanceolate-subulate, flat or plano-convex, thin, narrowly 

winged, serrulate above the middle, brown or pale green to stramineous, 

3-4 mm long, 0.9-1.2 mm wide. Nerves: Several, faint on both faces or 

nearly absent ventrally. Beaks: Flat, narrow, tapered, serrulate, obliquely 

cleft, bidentate.

ACHENES: Oblong, lenticular, 0.8-1.5 mm long, 0.5-0.8 mm wide. Stigmas: 2, styles usually persistent.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Infrequent, but occasionally locally 

abundant. Moist or wet places at low to moderate elevations. Alaska 

to Newfoundland, south to central Washington and Idaho, and east to 

Michigan and New Jersey. June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 1.
88 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex cusickii. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 89

Carex cusickii Mack.

Cusick sedge

HABIT: One of the most grasslike sedges, more or less cespitose from 

creeping rhizomes. Culms: Sharply triangular, roughened on the angles 

above, 3-12 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: Loosely clustered near base. Blades: Flat with revolute margins, 2.5-6 mm wide. Sheaths: More or less septate-nodulose dorsally, 

red-dotted and often cross-corrugated ventrally, concave and copper colored 

at the mouth; older sheaths reddish-ribbed ventrally.

BRACTS: Small, inconspicuous, scarcely different from the pistillate 

scales.

SPIKES: Small, sessile, numerous, androgynous; inflorescence compound, grasslike, brown, 3.5-8 cm long, 1-2 cm wide; lower spike clusters 

separate; upper spike clusters aggregated; staminate flowers inconspicuous; perigynia spreading at maturity.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate-triangular with an acute tip, brown with 

hyaline margins and lighter-colored midvein that is sometimes excurrent, 

equaling the perigynia, largely concealing and falling with them.

PERIGYNIA: Ovate to lance-ovate, biconvex or plano-convex, strongly 

spongy-thickened and truncate at the base, sharp-edged, coriaceous, 

glossy, substipitate, light brown with green margins to brownish black 

at maturity, 2-4 mm long, 1.1-2 mm wide. Nerves: Few dorsally, often 

obscurely nerved toward the base ventrally. Beaks: Abruptly narrowed, 

less than half the length of the body, coarsely-serrulate-margined, shallowly bidentate; dorsal suture prominent distally.

ACHENES: Suborbicular to obovoid, lenticular, substipitate, brownish at 

maturity, 1-1.8 mm long, 0.8-1.2 mm wide, jointed to the style. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Infrequent in wet meadows and along 

borders of ponds and slow streams. Sea level to moderate elevations. 

British Columbia to coastal California, central Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, 

and perhaps in Utah. May-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: C. cusickii—Inflorescence a compound grasslike 

head; perigynium usually plano-convex with a long, ill-defined beak, and 

sometimes with a pair of veins bordering a concave median strip on the 

dorsal side, the latter a characteristic of C. diandra. C. diandra—Head 

not compound or less obviously compound; perigynium usually unequally 

biconvex; beak short; well-defined; dorsal suture covered by a flap.
90 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex deweyana. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 91

Carex deweyana Schwein.

Dewey sedge

SYNONYMS: C. bolanderi (Olney) W. Boott; C. leptopoda Mack.

HABIT: Loosely to densely clumped from short rhizomes. Culms: Weak 

and spreading, roughened beneath the inflorescence, 2-12 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, slightly aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: Borne on the lower part of the culm. Blades: Flat, soft, thin, 

light green or glaucous to yellowish green, 2-5 mm wide. Sheaths: Tight, 

hyaline ventrally, truncate to concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: Lowest sheathless, setaceous-prolonged, but shorter than the 

inflorescence; upper reduced and inconspicuous.

SPIKES: 2-10, gynaecandrous, sessile, 7-20 mm long, light green or 

greenish tan, approximate and loosely aggregated or the lowest one remote; inflorescence flexuous, 2-6 cm long; perigynia appressed-ascending 

to spreading.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate to oblong-ovate, covering the body of the 

perigynium but not the beak, very thin, scarious, whitish to light brown; 

midrib fimer, greenish, sometimes prolonged as a short awn-tip.

PERIGYNIA: Oblong-lanceolate or narrowly elliptic, plano-convex, 

spongy-thickened below, gradually tapering at the apex, tan or stramineous and greenish distally and marginally, sometimes greenish throughout, 

2.8-4.8 mm long, 1-1.5 mm wide. Nerves: Several dorsally, absent to few 

ventrally; marginal nerves raised, but not thin-edged. Beaks: Prominent, 

slender, serrulate, sometimes to the distal part of the body, obliquely cleft, 

bidentate, 1.1-2.7 mm long.

ACHENES: Suborbicular, lenticular, yellowish brown at maturity, 

1.5-2.25 mm long, 1.25-1.75 mm wide. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Rare to locally frequent in forest 

openings, moist woodlands, and along streambanks from near sea level 

to near timberline. British Columbia to Labrador and south through 

Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.

June-August.
92 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex diandra. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, (D) achenes. 

B through D: Left and center—dorsal views; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 93

Carex diandra Schrank

Lesser panicled sedge

HABIT: Densely cespitose from short, fibrillose rhizomes. Culms: Sharply 

triangular, strongly roughened on the angles, 3-10 dm tall, equaling or 

exceeding the leaves, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: Borne on the lower one-third of the culm. Blades: Elongate, 

canaliculate to plicate, 1-3 mm wide. Sheaths: Thin, tight, striate, reddotted or plain ventrally, truncate to shallowly concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: Lowest sometimes elongate and setaceous, sheathless; upper 

small and inconspicuous.

SPIKES: Numerous, androgynous, small, few-flowered, sessile, tan to 

brown, closely aggregated into a linear, simple or inconspicuously compound inflorescence, 1.5-6 cm long and 7-10 mm wide; perigynia spreadingascending at maturity and early deciduous.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate to oblong-ovate with an acute to cuspidate 

tip, equal to shorter and sometimes wider than the perigynia, brownish 

with a pale midrib and wide-hyaline margins,

PERIGYNIA: Ovate or lance-ovate, unequally biconvex, tapering at the 

apex, firm and thick-walled, glossy, short-stipitate, dark brown, lighter 

toward the base and apex, 2-3 mm long, 0.9-1.4 mm wide. Nerves: A pair 

of veins border the thin median strip (an extension of the dorsal suture).

Beaks: Coarse, tapering, thin-walled, serrulate-margined, occasionally 

the flap of the dorsal suture conspicuous, greenish to whitish.

ACHENES: Broadly obovate, lenticular, abruptly tapered at the 

substipitate base, apiculate with the apex truncate, 1-1.4 mm long, 

0.8-1 mm wide, brown, jointed to the style. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Swamps, sphagnum bogs, lake 

margins, and wet, often calcareous meadows at moderate elevations. 

Circumboreal. In North America from Yukon to Newfoundland and south 

to California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Iowa, and New Jersey. 

Seldom collected south of the Canadian border in the cordilleran region.

June-July.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See C. cusickii.
94 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex dioica. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, (D) achenes. 

B through D: Left—dorsal view; right (and C and D, center)—ventral view.

B

C

D

A
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 95

Carex dioica L.

Bog sedge, yellow bog sedge

SYNONYM: C. gynocrates Wormskj. ex Drejer.

HABIT: Culms arising singly from long, slender rhizomes. Culms: Filiform, terete, stiff, smooth, 2-30 cm tall, exceeding the leaves, phyllopodic.

LEAVES: Loosely clustered toward the base. Blades: Narrowly involute, 3-15 cm long, 0.4-0.9 mm wide. Sheaths: Thin and white-hyaline 

ventrally when young, brown when mature, shallowly to deeply concave 

at the mouth.

BRACTS: None.

SPIKES: Solitary, chestnut brown, varying from androgynous to almost 

wholly staminate or almost wholly pistillate, 5-15 mm long; staminate 

portion paler, slender; perigynia crowded, widely spreading.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Scarious or almost hyaline, broadly ovate with 

an obtuse tip, usually shorter and wider than the perigynia, persistent, 

light reddish brown to brown.

PERIGYNIA: Slenderly ovoid, thick-walled with especially the lower portion spongy-thickened, biconvex at maturity, plump, coriaceous, glossy, 

short-stipitate, the stipe apparent when dry, yellowish to brownish black 

or chestnut brown, 2.5-4 mm long, 1.5-2 mm wide. Nerves: Numerous, 

conspicuously reaching the base of the beak dorsally, obscure or conspicuous ventrally; marginal nerves not prominent. Beaks: Abruptly contracted, 

sparingly serrulate, obliquely cleft and recurved, 0.5 mm long.

ACHENES: Broadly obovate or ovate, lenticular, glossy, yellowish brown, 

1.5-2 mm long, 1.2-1.5 mm wide; rachilla obsolete. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Sphagnum bogs and wet, marshy 

places. Rare and restricted to middle and upper elevations in the 

mountains. Circumboreal. In North America from Washington (Okanogan 

County) to northeastern Oregon (Wallowa Mountains), Nevada, Utah, 

Colorado, and east to Pennsylvania. July-August.
96 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex disperma. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

B

C

D

A
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 97

Carex disperma Dewey

Soft-leaved sedge

HABIT: Loosely tufted from long, slender rhizomes. Culms: Very slender 

and weak, usually nodding, 1-6 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, somewhat 

aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: Borne on the lower part of the culm. Blades: Flat, thin, soft, 

light green, 0.75-2 mm wide. Sheaths: Tight, very thin and hyaline ventrally, truncate at the mouth.

BRACTS: Filiform-foliaceous to 2 cm long or short and scarious; margins 

hyaline; midrib firm, often prolonged as an awn.

SPIKES: Androgynous, but sometimes appearing gynaecandrous due 

to growth of the perigynia, sessile, green, becoming dark brown, to 5 mm 

long; 2-6 flowered with 1-3 perigynia; the inflorescence interrupted-linear 

with the lower spikes separate and the upper somewhat contiguous; perigynia spreading-ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate-triangular and acute to awned at the tip, 

shorter than to equaling the perigynia, largely scarious or hyaline-scarious, 

stramineous or pale.

PERIGYNIA: Elliptic-ovoid, unequally biconvex, leathery, plump with 

spongy tissue filling the wall from the base to near the beak, short-stipitate, 

light green to yellowish green, becoming golden brown to dark brown, 2-3 

mm long, 1-1.6 mm wide. Nerves: Numerous on both surfaces and reaching to the beak; marginal nerves not obvious. Beaks: Abruptly contracted, 

very short or obsolete, entire or obliquely cleft, minutely bidentate.

ACHENES: Oblong-elliptic, lenticular, glossy, golden brown, 1-2 mm 

long, 0.9-1.3 mm wide; style short, semi-persistent as a slender apiculus.

Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Common in swamps, bogs, wet 

meadows, and moist shady woods in the mountains and on peaty banks 

of streams and lakes at moderate to high elevations. In North America 

from Alaska to Laborador and south to California, central Idaho, Nevada, 

Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, and New Jersey. June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: C. disperma—Culms slender and flexible; inflorescence with an interrupted-linear outline; perigynium many-nerved; 

achene lenticular; occurs in moist or wet places and shady woods. C. vallicola—Culms stiff and erect; inflorescence with a ragged outline due to 

the few-flowered spikes; perigynium with 2 ventro-marginal nerves; beak 

a little longer; achene orbicular; occurs in sagebrush-grass areas.
98 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex douglasii. (A) Inflorescence (pistillate), (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left and center—dorsal views; right—ventral view.

B

C

D

A
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 99

Carex douglasii Boott

Douglas sedge

HABIT: Not tufted, developing from slender, creeping rhizomes. Culms:

Slender, stiff, smooth, obtusely triangular, (0.5)1-3 dm tall, usually exceeding the leaves, phyllopodic.

LEAVES: 3-8, clustered near the base. Blades: Involute but sometimes 

flattened or canaliculate toward the base, 1-2.5 mm wide. Sheaths: Old 

sheaths persistent, at the base, hyaline ventrally, brown or black, truncate 

at the mouth.

BRACTS: Scarious-setaceous, shorter than the inflorescence.

SPIKES: Several, ovoid-fusiform, sessile, 1-1.5 cm long; plants dioecious 

or rarely incompletely so. Staminate: Inflorescence of many aggregated 

spikes, rhomboidal to linear-oblong, rarely some spikes androgynous. 

Pistillate: Inflorescence with many spikes, suborbicular to oblong, stramineous at maturity, 1.5-5 cm long, 1-2.5 cm wide; perigynia appressedascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate with an acuminate to cuspidate tip, exceeding and covering the perigynia, stramineous 

with a green or pale 3-nerved center.

PERIGYNIA: Ovate-lanceolate, rounded or narrowly tapering to the 

stipitate base, plano-convex, sharp-edged and finely serrulate distally, 

firm-walled, smooth, stramineous to brownish throughout, 3.5-4.6 mm 

long, 1.3-1.8 mm wide. Nerves: Obscurely many-striated on both faces; 

marginal nerves well-developed. Beaks: Tapered, slender, serrulate, 

obliquely cleft, bidentulate, 1.75 mm long.

ACHENES: Obovate, lenticular, glossy brown, 1.4-1.9 mm long, 1-1.5 

mm wide, closely enveloped by the perigynia. Stigmas: 2, 4-6 mm long. 

Style and stigmas very long and conspicuous at flowering, sometimes 

persistent at maturity.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Common and widely distributed on 

dry to fairly wet, often alkaline places on open plains and foothills from 

low to moderate elevations. British Columbia to Manitoba and south 

from California to New Mexico. Found in appropriate habitats throughout 

the Intermountain area. May-August.

SIMILAR SPEICES: C. praegracilis is sometimes fully dioecious, but is 

distinguished by its loosely aggregated, elongate head compared to the 

ovoid-fusiform head of C. douglasii.
100 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex ebenea. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, (D) achenes. 

B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

B

C

D

A
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 101

Carex ebenea Rydb.

Ebony sedge

HABIT: Tufted without creeping rhizomes. Culms: Conspicuously striate, 

obtusely triangular, thick at the base, 1-5.5 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, 

slightly aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 3-5, clustered toward the base. Blades: Flat, firm, 2-4 mm 

wide. Sheaths: Ventrally with a narrow strip of thin and hyaline material, truncate to shallowly concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: Sheathless, scarious-margined at the base, setaceous or shortawned, shorter than the inflorescence.

SPIKES: 5-10, gynaecandrous, sessile, narrowly oblong, 7-15 mm long, 

closely aggregated into a dense, globose-ovoid, greenish black to brownish 

gold head 1.5-3 cm long, 12-28 mm wide, tapering at the base; perigynia 

appressed-ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate-lanceolate with an acute to obtuse tip, 

brownish black or black with the margins very narrow and hyaline, shorter 

and narrower than the perigynia, exposing their beaks and margins.

PERIGYNIA: Narrowly lanceolate to oblanceolate, flat or plano-convex, 

narrowly wing-margined or thin-edged to the round-tapering spongy base, 

margins serrulate above the middle, coppery brown with green margins 

to golden brown throughout or brownish black, 3.5-7.1 mm long, 1.1-1.7 

mm wide. Nerves: Fine, usually several on both surfaces. Beaks: Slender, 

serrulate, 0.9-1.5 mm long; the distal part darker, terete, hyaline-tipped, 

obliquely cleft and only shallowly, if at all bidentate; dorsal suture present 

with overlapping hyaline margins.

ACHENES: Oval-oblong, lenticular, 1.3-2 mm long, 1.25 mm wide, jointed 

to the stipe that traverses the spongy base. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Fairly common to locally abundant 

in wet to moderately dry places at high elevations in the mountains. 

In the Rocky Mountain region from central Idaho and Montana to Utah 

(Uinta, LaSal, and Abajo Mountains), western Wyoming, northern 

Arizona, and New Mexico. June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 1. C. ebenea—Culms obtusely 

triangular; leaves flat, clustered toward the base; perigynium coppery 

brown, widest below the middle; beak terete, shallowly bidentate. C. leporinella—Culms sharply triangular; leaves involute, not clustered; perigynium brown or pale, widest about the middle; beak flat, deeply bidentate.
102 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex echinata. (A) Pistillate scales, (B) perigynia, (C) achenes, (D) inflorescences. 

A through C: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

B

C

D

A
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 103

Carex echinata Murray

Spiny star sedge

SYNONYM: C. muricata L.

HABIT: Densely tufted. Culms: 1-6 dm tall, equaling to exceeding the 

leaves, somewhat aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: All borne on the lower part of culm. Blades: Elongate, slender, 

light green, 1-3.3 mm wide. Sheaths: Thin, hyaline ventrally, slightly 

thickened, and shallowly concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: Lowest small and inconspicuous to setaceous-prolonged, sheathless; upper reduced and scale-like.

SPIKES: 3-6, green, turning to brown, clustered to remote, forming an 

elongated to oblong head. Terminal: Gynaecandrous. Lateral: Gynaecandrous or wholly pistillate; perigynia 5-15, crowded, widely spreading 

to deflexed at maturity.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Broadly ovate, acute or cuspidate at the tip, 

shorter and narrower than the perigynia, hyaline or scarious, brownish 

tinged, greenish along the firm midvein.

PERIGYNIA: Lance-triangular to lance-ovate, plano-convex, thin-walled 

or subcoriaceous with abundant spongy tissue at the base, sharp edged, 

serrulate distally, green or tan, 1.6-3.5(4.0) mm long, 0.8-2 mm wide.

Nerves: Few to many dorsally, few or absent ventrally, prominent on 

the margins. Beaks: Slender, abruptly tapered, greener than the body, 

bidentate, 1.1-1.6 mm long.

ACHENE: Ovate, lenticular, substipitate, golden yellow at maturity, 

1.1-1.6 mm long, 0.8-1.3 mm wide. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Swamps, sphagnum bogs, and other 

wet places from sea level to moderate elevations. Circumboreal. In 

North America extending south to central Oregon and California and east 

to Utah, Colorado, Wisconsin, and North Carolina. May-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: C. echinata—Perigynium beak slender; longer 

(1.1-1.6 mm long), equaling the body, thin-walled, bidentate; style slender. 

C. interior—Perigynium beak broader and shorter (0.5-1 mm long), thickwalled, very shallowly bidentate; style stout.
104 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex egglestonii. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

B

C

D

A
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 105

Carex egglestonii Mack.

Eggleston sedge

HABIT: Densely tufted from short, woody rhizomes. Culms: Stiffly erect, 

1.5-6 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, slightly aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 4-6, crowded on the lower one-third of the culm. Blades: Flat, 

thick, 2-6 mm wide. Sheaths: Strongly white-hyaline ventrally, truncate 

to concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: Lowest sheathless, setaceous, prolonged, but shorter than the 

inflorescence, sometimes short and inconspicuous; upper inconspicuous.

SPIKES: 3-6, gynaecandrous, sessile, broadly oblong, 9-15 mm long, 

distinguishable, but densely aggregated into an ovoid blackish green to 

golden brown head 18-25 mm long; perigynia appressed-ascending, tips 

and margins exposed.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate-lanceolate with an acute to short-acuminate tip, shorter and narrower than the perigynia, chestnut brown with 

a lighter midvein, white-hyaline along the narrow and somewhat stiff 

margins.

PERIGYNIA: Ovate, flattened concavo-convex, thin, broadly winged to 

the rounded base with the margins somewhat finely wrinkled and serrulate 

to below the middle, tapering at the apex, membranaceous, olive green 

to brownish, coppery-tinged toward the margins, 5.5-7.2 mm long, 2.6-

3.8 mm wide. Nerves: Obscure and numerous on both sides, present on the 

dorsal side only or lacking except for a pair of prominent, inframarginal 

nerves delimiting the wing-margin. Beaks: Flat with winged, serrulate 

margins, obliquely cleft, bidentate, 1.5 mm long.

ACHENES: Obovoid-oblong, lenticular, rounded to truncate distally, 

golden brown at maturity, substipitate, 1.9-2.3 mm long, 1-2 mm wide.

Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Dry meadows and open slopes at 

high elevations in the mountains. In the southern Rocky Mountains and 

Colorado Plateau from Utah to southern Wyoming and Colorado. JuneAugust.
106 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex eleocharis. (A) Pistillate scales, (B) perigynia, (C) inflorescences. A and B: 

Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

B

C

A
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 107

Carex eleocharis Bailey

Narrowleaf sedge, needleleaf sedge

SYNONYM: Carex stenophylla Wahl.

HABIT: Culms arising singly or few together from slender, well-developed 

brown rhizomes. Culms: Slender, smooth, obtusely angled, erect, 0.5-2 

dm tall, slightly phyllopodic, old leaf bases present.

LEAVES: 1-4, closely clustered at or near the base of the culm. Blades:

Slender, canaliculate and firm or flat and sometimes involute, 0.3-1.5 mm 

wide, tapering to a long tip. Sheaths: Hyaline ventrally, overlapping, 

shallowly concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: Short and inconspicuous, ovate, cuspidate, resembling the 

pistillate scales.

SPIKES: Several indistinguishable, androgynous or rarely unisexual, 

small, sessile, aggregated into an ovoid or oblong-cylindric, brown to 

reddish brown head 8-17 mm long; perigynia few, appressed-ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Broadly ovate with a firm and often shortly exserted midrib, equaling or surpassing the perigynia and concealing them, 

stramineous to brownish.

PERIGYNIA: Broadly elliptic-ovate, plano-convex, coriaceous, shining, 

often broadly short-stipitate, greenish brown to brownish black at maturity, 2.5-3.5 mm long, 1.5-2 mm wide. Nerves: Dorsally absent or about 10, 

obscurely striated; ventrally absent or several; marginal nerves prominent.

Beaks: Abruptly contracted into a smooth or serrulate obliquely cleft beak, 

sometimes bidentate and hyaline tipped, 0.5-1.0 mm long.

ACHENES: Orbicular-ovate, lenticular, apiculate, jointed at the short 

style, 1.5-2.1 mm long, 1.25-1.7 mm wide, closely filling the perigynium.

Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Common and locally abundant on 

open, dry to moderately wet, often grassy places, from the plains to fairly 

high elevations in the mountains. Oregon and Idaho south to California 

(where rare) and east to Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and through the Rocky 

Mountains to Iowa and Nebraska. May-August.
108 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex elynoides. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, (D) achenes 

(left and center each with rachilla). B through D: Left (and C and D, center)—dorsal 

view; right—ventral view.

B

C

D

A
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 109

Carex elynoides Holm

Blackroot sedge, kobresia-like sedge

HABIT: Dwarfed, densely tufted without creeping rhizomes. Culms:

Very slender, wiry, 1.5 dm tall, about equaling the leaves, old leaf bases 

persistent.

LEAVES: Mostly basal. Blades: Acicular, stiff and wiry, involute, glabrous 

or with scaberulous margins, bright green, 0.5 mm wide. Sheaths: Thin, 

hyaline ventrally, shallowly concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: None.

SPIKES: Solitary, androgynous, erect, linear, tan to reddish brown, 

10-15 mm long; perigynia 4-12, erect-ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Very broad, tending to wrap around the spike 

rachis, acute to broadly rounded above or the lowest ones mucronateawned, wider and equaling to longer than the perigynia and completely 

concealing them, light to dark brown with a paler midvein and broad 

white-hyaline tip and margins.

PERIGYNIA: Obpyramidal or ellipsoid, 3-angled, membranous, dark 

greenish-tinged or brown above, paler below, 2.5-4.5 mm long, 1.8-2.2 mm 

wide. Nerves: Obscurely 2-ribbed. Beaks: Slender, cylindrical, abruptly 

narrowed, inconspicuously short-hairy or glabrous, truncately cut, hyaline 

at the tip, 0.4-1 mm long.

ACHENES: Oblong-obovoid, sharply trigonous, brown to black at maturity, 1.5-2 mm long, 1.2-2 mm wide; rachilla well-developed. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Open dry slopes at high elevations

in the mountains. Nevada (White Pine and Elko Counties) eastward across 

Idaho, Utah, southwestern Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. JulyAugust.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 7.
110 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex exserta. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

B

C

D

A
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 111

Carex exserta Mack.

Shorthair sedge

SYNONYM: C. filifollia Nutt. var. erostrata Kükenth.

HABIT: Densely cespitose from very short rhizomes. Culms: Erect, 

slender, wiry, terete, smooth, 0.5-2.5 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, old 

leaf bases persistent.

LEAVES: Clustered toward the base. Blades: Filiform, channeled, 

0.25-0.7 mm wide. Sheaths: Thin and hyaline ventrally, truncate at the 

mouth.

BRACTS: None.

SPIKES: Solitary, androgynous, narrowly oblong-lanceolate, conic above 

(staminate portion), broader below with a truncate base, tan to brown or 

reddish brown, 0.7-2 cm long; perigynia spreading-ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate to obovate and orbicular with an obtuse 

tip, shorter than the perigynia, brownish with a paler 1-nerved midvein 

and white-hyaline margins.

PERIGYNIA: Obovoid or roundish, membranaceous, 2-3 mm long, 

1.5-2.1 mm wide, upper portion reddish brown with short to inconspicuous hairs; lower portion much lighter. Nerves: Faintly 2-ribbed. Beaks: 

Hyaline and fragile, entire or very slightly bidentate, 0-0.3 mm long.

ACHENES: Obovoid, trigonous, apiculate, stramineous to brownish, 

1.5-2.2 mm long, 1.2-1.8 mm wide; rachilla well-developed. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Common. In dry to moist soil on open 

slopes, talus, and flats at moderate to high elevations. California (Inyo, San 

Bernadino, Sierra Nevada, and White Mountains) and Oregon (Warner 

Mountains). June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 7.
112 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex filifolia. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, (D) achenes 

(achene on right with rachilla). B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 113

Carex filifolia Nutt.

Sheepswool sedge, thread-leaved sedge

HABIT: Densely tufted without creeping rhizomes, forming a dense sod, 

sometimes giving the appearance that all clumps are connected. Culms: 

Slender, wiry, terete, 0.5-3 dm tall, equaling or exceeding the leaves, 

phyllopodic, old leaf bases persistent.

LEAVES: 2-3. Blades: Acicular, involute, slender, stiff, wiry, 0.2-0.4 mm 

wide. Sheaths: Thin and hyaline ventrally, truncate at the mouth; basal 

sheaths persistent, striate, filamentose.

BRACTS: None.

SPIKES: Solitary, androgynous, erect, narrowly conic with a tapered 

base, tan to brown, 1-3 cm long, 3-6 mm wide; staminate portion terminal, slenderly conic; lower portion with 5-15 erect-ascending perigynia.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Broadly obovate, broadly rounded or erose distally (the lowest ones more pointed), equaling or larger than and entirely 

concealing the perigynia, brown with wide white-hyaline margins, occasionally with a pale midvein or sometimes obscurely 3-veined.

PERIGYNIA: Obovoid or spherical-obovoid to obpyramidal, dull-whitish or straw-colored, often darker just below the beak, 3-4.5 mm long, 

2-2.3 mm wide, copiously, but very minutely hirtellous-puberulent, at 

least above the middle. Nerves: Obscurely 2-ribbed, otherwise nerveless 

or nearly so. Beaks: Stout, abruptly contracted, hyaline-tipped, truncately 

cut, 0.1-0.8 mm long.

ACHENES: Obovoid, apiculate, trigonous, tapering at the base, 2.2-3 mm 

long; rachilla well-developed. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Dry, open slopes or plains, often with 

sagebrush or in grassy prairies, from plains and valleys to moderate 

elevations in the mountains. Yukon to Oregon (Harney and Malheur 

Counties) and California and east through central Idaho, Nevada (Elko 

County), Utah (Daggett and Emery Counties), New Mexico, Nebraska, 

and Texas. June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 7.
114 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex flava. (A) Pistillate scales, (B) perigynia, (C) achenes, (D) inflorescences. 

A through C: Left (and A and B, center)—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 115

Carex flava L.

Yellow sedge

HABIT: Densely cespitose from very short rhizomes. Culms: Stiff, somewhat fibrillose at the base, 1-8 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, phyllopodic.

LEAVES: 4-8, clustered toward the base. Blades: Flat or channeled, 

2-5.5 mm wide. Sheaths: Dull white ventrally, truncate at the mouth.

BRACTS: Lowest leaflike, erect, divergent, exceeding the inflorescence; 

sheaths of lower bracts variable, 2-20 mm long; upper bracts often sheathless and reduced.

SPIKES: 3-6, greenish brown to yellowish brown, sessile or short-pedunculate. Terminal: Staminate linear, 0.5-2.4 cm long, 2-3 mm wide, 

pedunculate. Lateral: Pistillate, short-oblong to suborbicular, 5-18 mm 

long, 7-12 mm wide; the lower pedunculate, contiguous or more or less 

separate, the uppermost nearly sessile; perigynia crowded in several to 

many rows, widely spreading to deflexed.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate to ovate-lanceolate with an acute to cuspidate tip, narrower and shorter than the perigynia, reddish with a pale, 

3-nerved center and slender, hyaline margins.

PERIGYNIA: Obovoid, falcate little inflated, puncticulate, yellowish 

green, becoming more yellow with age, 3.5-6.2 mm long, 1.25-2 mm wide. 

Nerves: Several to many, conspicuous. Beaks: Conic, slender, reddishtinged, serrulate, abruptly contracted, deflexed, 1.4-2.3 mm long; teeth 

bidentate.

ACHENES: Obpyramidal, trigonous, abruptly tapered to the base, 

truncated at the apex, yellow brown at maturity, 1.2-1.6 mm long, 1 mm 

wide. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Wet, usually sandy meadows, sometimes on calcareous soils at low to mid elevations. Circumboreal. In 

North America from British Columbia to Newfoundland, south to central Idaho and Montana (Yellowstone National Park), and east through 

Indiana to New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Rather rare in Idaho. JuneAugust.

SIMILAR SPECIES: C. flava—Plants generally taller (1-8 dm tall); 

perigynia larger, (3.5-6.2 mm long, 1.25-2 mm wide) with longer beak, 

(1.4-2.3 mm long), widely spreading to deflexed. C. oederi—Plants shorter 

(0.6-4 dm tall); perigynia smaller, (2.3-5 mm long, 0.9-1.5 mm wide) with 

shorter beaks (0.8-1.1 mm long), crowded, spreading.
116 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex foetida var. vernacula. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 117

Carex foetida All. var. vernacula (Bailey) Kükenth.

Foetid sedge

SYNONYMS: C. foetida All., C. vernacula Bailey.

HABIT: Cespitose or loosely aggregated from short rhizomes or the culms 

borne singly on somewhat elongate rhizomes. Culms: Triangular, 0.5-3 

dm tall, exceeding the leaves, phyllopodic.

LEAVES: Borne on the lower one-third of the culm. Blades: Flat, thick, 

firm, 2-4 mm wide, gradually tapering to a slender tip. Sheath: Thin and 

hyaline ventrally, concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: Lowest short and inconspicuous; otherwise none.

SPIKES: Numerous, androgynous, sessile, indistinguishable, closely 

aggregated into a compact, brown, globose or ovoid head 8-16 mm long; 

perigynia spreading-ascending, anthers numerous and conspicuous.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Broadly ovate, acute to acuminate at the tip, 

equaling or slightly shorter than the perigynia and concealing them, 

shining dark brown, hyaline-scarious throughout except for the slender, 

often paler midrib.

PERIGYNIA: Lanceolate or narrowly elliptic to obovate, broadly tapered 

to the slender stipitate base, flattened, brownish with thin, pale green 

margins, 3-3.8 mm long, 1-1.8 mm wide. Nerves: Lacking or 5-10 toward 

the base on both surfaces, well-developed on the margins. Beaks: Prominent, 0.8-1.7 mm long, abruptly tapered to a slender, obliquely cleft tip.

ACHENES: Ovate, lenticular, short-stipitate, light to dark brown, 

1.1-1.5 mm long, 0.7-1.1 mm wide. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: In moist or wet places at high elevations especially at the edges of melting snowfields and in meltwater 

streams. Irregularly distributed from southern Washington to the Sierra 

Nevada and adjacent White Mountains of California, Utah, and Nevada, 

the Wallowa Mountains and Steens Mountain of Oregon, and the southern 

Rocky Mountains of Wyoming and Colorado. June-August.
118 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex fracta. (A) Pistillate scales, (B) perigynia, (C) achenes, (D) inflorescence. 

A through C: Left and center—dorsal views; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 119

Carex fracta Mack.

Fragile-sheathed sedge

HABIT: Loosely to densely cespitose from very short rhizomes. Culms:

Coarse, erect, 4-10 dm tall, greatly exceeding the leaves, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: All borne on the lower one-half of the culm, but not clustered.

Blades: Flat, elongate, 3-7 mm wide. Sheaths: White-hyaline ventrally 

or green-ribbed to within 10 mm of the mouth; a prominent tongue-like 

extension 2-4 mm long above the mouth surpasses the base of the blade.

BRACTS: Lowest usually setaceous-prolonged, shorter than or sometimes equaling or slightly exceeding the inflorescence; upper reduced and 

inconspicuous.

SPIKES: 7-35, gynaecandrous, sessile, 1 cm long, crowded into a green 

to pale gold, oblong-ovoid to spiciform-cylindric inflorescence 3-8 cm long; 

head often compound; perigynia appressed-ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate-lanceolate, acuminate or shortly awntipped, equaling or shorter and narrower than the perigynia, green along 

the midstripe with wide, white-hyaline-scarious margins.

PERIGYNIA: Ovate to lance-ovate, plano-convex or flattened, slightly 

to prominently wing-margined, serrulate on the upper half, 2.5-4.5(5.2) 

mm long, 1.0-1.8 mm wide, green, especially on the upper margins, or 

greenish-stramineous. Nerves: Several on both surfaces. Beak: Prominent, slender, narrowly tapered, obliquely cleft, serrulate, but smooth in 

the distal 0.5 mm.

ACHENES: Apiculate, lenticular, substipitate, stramineous to brown, 

1.2-2 mm long, 0.8-1.2 mm wide. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Common in wet or dry meadows and 

moist slopes in open forests. Foothills to near timberline in the mountains. Washington to California in the coast ranges and Cascade-Sierra 

axis to the mountains of southern California. July-August.
120 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex fuliginosa var. misandra. (A) Pistillate scales, (B) perigynia, (C) achenes, 

(D) inflorescence. A through C: Left (and B, center)—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 121

Carex fuliginosa var. misandra O.F. Lang

Few-flowered sedge, shortleaved sedge

SYNONYMS: C. misandra R. Br.

HABIT: Densely tufted without creeping rhizomes. Culms: Slender, erect, 

nodding, 0.5-3 dm tall, much longer than the leaves, strongly phyllopodic.

LEAVES: Numerous, clustered near the base. Blades: Flat, thick, firm, 1-4 

mm wide. Sheaths: Thin, reddish brown ventrally, concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: The lowest leaflike, long-sheathing, shorter than the inflorescence; the upper reduced.

SPIKES: 3-4, nodding, linear-oblong, reddish brown, pedunculate, 

1-1.5(2) cm long. Terminal: Gynaecandrous or sometimes wholly 

pistillate (rarely staminate). Lateral: Pistillate, approximate or the 

lower ones somewhat remote and often nodding; perigynia appressedascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate, wider, but shorter than the perigynia, 

thin, brown to black, the margins and apex narrowly white-hyaline.

PERIGYNIA: Mostly narrowly lanceolate, flattened-trigonous, tapering 

to a substipitate base, long-tapering toward the apex, ciliate-serrulate 

on the margins above the middle, membranous, dark brown or purplish 

black above, pale brown or greenish white below, 3.3-5.5 mm long, 0.9-

1.3 mm wide. Nerves: Few toward the base on both surfaces, otherwise 

lacking except for the well-developed marginal nerves. Beaks: Poorly 

defined, tapered, slender; tip white-hyaline, obliquely cleft, bidentulate 

or bidentate.

ACHENES: Obovoid, triquetrous, striate, brown, 1.4-2 mm long, 

0.75-1 mm wide. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Infrequent and local in meadows and 

on open slopes above timberline. Circumboreal. In North America from 

Alaska to Quebec and Labrador south to Alberta. Apparently disjunct in 

Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. July-August.
122 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex geophila. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achene. B and C: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 123

Carex geophila Mack.

Ground-loving sedge

HABIT: Densely cespitose, developing from branched rhizomes. Culms: 

Slender, rough on the angles, 2-10 cm tall, shorter than to equaling the 

leaves, phyllopodic, old fibrillose sheaths persistent at the base.

LEAVES: 5-10, clustered toward the base. Blades: Firm, roughened, 

channeled above, 1-2.5 mm wide. Sheaths: Slightly ribbed and hyaline 

ventrally, truncate at the mouth.

BRACTS: Lowest sheathless or short-sheathing, shorter than to slightly 

surpassing the inflorescence; upper reduced and scalelike or lacking.

SPIKES: 2-5, slender, tan to brown. Terminal: Staminate, linear, 

usually pedunculate, 5-12 mm long. Lateral: 2-4, pistillate, sessile or 

short-pedunculate, few-flowered, usually borne near the staminate, but 

sometimes with 1 or more small pistillate spikes near the base of the culm; 

perigynia spreading-ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate with an acute to cuspidate tip, equaling or 

shorter than the perigynia, reddish brown with a greenish or paler center 

and hyaline margins; lower ones longer.

PERIGYNIA: Subglobose to ellipsoid or obovoid, tapering to a narrow 

substipitate base and abruptly contracted at the apex, puberulent, pale 

green to stramineous, occasionally with some reddish-purple streaks, 

2.7-4 mm long, 1.75 mm wide. Nerves: Two-keeled (nerves marginal), 

otherwise nerveless or lightly nerved at the base. Beaks: Conic, short, 

serrulate, shallowly bidentate, 0.4-1.2 mm long.

ACHENES: Trigonous with convex sides and prominent angles, rounded 

and apiculate to retuse at the apex, stipitate, 1.6-2.8 mm long, 1.75 mm 

wide. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Dry, open places in the pinyonjuniper zone or on wooded slopes. Moderate elevations. Southern Utah 

and southwestern Colorado to Arizona, New Mexico, and Mexico. MayJuly.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 6.
124 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex geyeri. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, (D) achenes. 

B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 125

Carex geyeri Boott

Elk sedge, Geyer sedge

HABIT: Loosely to rather densely clustered from a system of branching 

rhizomes, sometimes forming tussocks. Culms: Stiffly erect, sharply triangular, very rough above, 1-5 dm tall, shorter to longer than the leaves, 

strongly aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: Generally 2. Blades: Flat or channeled, stiff with rough margins, leathery, medium to dark green, 1.5-4 mm wide. Sheaths: Tight, 

hyaline ventrally, truncate at the mouth, the lower enclosing the remainder 

of the leaves and the fruiting culm, fascicle-like in appearance.

BRACTS: None.

SPIKES: Solitary, tan to brown, androgynous; staminate portion 

linear, 1-2.5 cm long; perigynia 1-3, somewhat remote near the base, 

appressed-ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Persistent, narrowly oblong, brownish to greenish, often with a paler midrib, hyaline-margined; the lower short-awned 

and surpassing the perigynium; the upper shorter and more acuminate 

or obtuse at the tip.

PERIGYNIA: Oblong-ovoid, tapering at the somewhat spongy base, 

rounded and abruptly contracted at the apex, triangular, glossy, glabrous, 

stoutly short-stipitate, greenish to greenish-stramineous or brownish, 

5-7 mm long, 1.7-3.5 mm wide. Nerves: Two-ribbed, otherwise absent.

Beaks: Very short or obsolete, bidentate or nearly so.

ACHENES: Obpyramidal, apiculate, sharply trigonous, 4-6.2 mm long, 

1.2-3 mm wide, filling the perigynium; rachilla varies from lacking to 

equaling the achene. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Common. Woodlands, open slopes, and 

dry meadows at moderate to high elevations in foothills and mountains. 

British Columbia and Alberta south to Oregon, northern California (where 

rare), Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado. One of the most 

common sedges in the northwest and northern Great Basin. April-July.

SIMILAR SPECIES: C. geyeri—Culms loosely to densely clustered from 

creeping rhizomes; lower pistillate scales short-awned, surpassing the perigynia; perigynia oblong-ovoid to triangular, glossy, nerved on the margins 

only; common in the Intermountain area. C. multicaulis—Culms densely 

clustered without creeping rhizomes; lower pistillate scales leaflike, 

much longer than the inflorescence; perigynia oblong-ovate, triangular, 

or ellipsoid, not glossy; nerves many, faint; occurs in the Sierra Nevada 

Mountains and Elko County, Nevada.
126 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex haydeniana. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right (and D, center)—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 127

Carex haydeniana Olney

Cloud sedge, Hayden sedge

HABIT: Densely tufted without creeping rhizomes. Culms: Slender, erect 

to decumbent, 1-4 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 3-5, loosely clustered near the base of the culm. Blades: Flat, 

firm, 1.5-4 mm wide. Sheaths: Hyaline ventrally, concave to convex at 

the mouth.

BRACTS: Scalelike or prolonged, but much shorter than the inflorescence.

SPIKES: 4-7(9), gynaecandrous, sessile, 7-10 mm long, indistinguishable and densely aggregated into a triangular-ovoid, blackish-green to 

golden-brown head that is broadest at the truncate base and 1-2 cm long; 

perigynia appressed-ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Oblong-ovate to ovate with an acute tip, shorter 

and much narrower than the perigynia, scarious or hyaline-scarious, 

brownish black or black with a paler midvein.

PERIGYNIA: Broadly ovate to ovate-lanceolate, thin and very flat except where distended by the achene, abruptly contracted distally, doubly 

serrulate-margined to below the middle and strongly winged to the broadly 

rounded base, blackish at the center, pale or greenish stramineous along 

the margins and at the base, 4.2-6.5 mm long, 1.5-2.6 mm wide. Nerves:

Prominent or occasionally absent dorsally; obscure or absent ventrally, or 

occasionally present at the base; inframarginal nerves delimit the wing 

from the perigynium body. Beaks: Slender, half the length of the body; 

the distal 0.5-1 mm terete, not markedly serrulate; tip dark, obliquely 

cleft, only obscurely bidentate.

ACHENES: Oblong, ovoid, lenticular, 1.3-1.7 mm long, 0.75-1.1 mm wide, 

jointed to a 0.5 mm stipe that traverses a loosely spongy area at the base 

of the perigynium. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: In moist to moderately dry places 

at high elevations, usually above timberline. British Columbia and Alberta south to Oregon, California, Idaho, central Nevada, Utah, Arizona, 

Wyoming, and Colorado. June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 1.
128 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex helleri. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, (D) achenes. 

B through D: Left (and B and D, center)—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 129

Carex helleri Mack.

Heller sedge

HABIT: Densely cespitose from short rhizomes. Culms: 0.5-5 dm tall, 

exceeding the leaves, phyllopodic.

LEAVES: Borne on the lower one-half of the culm but not clustered.

Blades: Flat, 1.5-3.5 mm wide, 15 cm long. Sheaths: Thin, hyaline ventrally, concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: Lowest leaflike, sheathless or nearly so, shorter than the inflorescence; upper reduced.

SPIKES: 3-5, oblong, sessile, 1-2 cm long, closely aggregated, forming a dense reddish brown to dark brown head, individual spikes have 

rough outline due to the short awn-tipped pistillate scales. Terminal: 

Gynaecandrous, clavate. Lateral: Pistillate; perigynia crowded, 

ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Lanceolate-ovate, acuminate, attenuate, or 

short-awn-tipped, narrower and longer than the perigynia, purplish black 

with a paler midrib and sometimes with obscurely white-hyaline margins.

PERIGYNIA: Oval to obovate or roundish, flattened (except where 

distended by the achene), thin with a darker center and pale or greenish margins, membranaceous throughout, 2.5-3.8 mm long, 1.5-2.8 mm 

wide. Nerves: Lacking or faint on both surfaces; marginal nerves present.

Beaks: Very short, 0.2-0.5 mm long, shallowly bidentate.

ACHENES: Short-oblong, trigonous, and sharply angled, pale brown, 

1.2-1.8 mm long, 0.7-1 mm wide. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Open, often dry or rocky places at 

high elevations. Cascade and Sweetwater Mountains of California, and 

the Sierra Nevada and White Mountains along the California-Nevada 

border. To be expected in other Nevada ranges. July-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 2.
130 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex heteroneura. (A) Inflorescence, (B) pistillate scales (scale on left with 

perigynium), (C) perigynia, (D) achenes. B through D: Left— dorsal view; 

right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 131

Carex heteroneura (Mack.) Cronq.

Black sedge, blackened sedge, dark sedge

SYNONYM: C. atrata L.

HABIT: Dense, small to large tufts without creeping rhizomes. Culms:

Slender and erect or nodding, 1.5-8 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, aphyllopodic, dried leaves of previous year conspicuous.

LEAVES: 7-10, clustered near the base. Blades: Flat with slightly revolute margins, channeled above, 2-8 mm wide. Sheaths: Brownish-tinged, 

the basal sheath reddish-tinged, thin and hyaline ventrally, concave to 

convex at the mouth.

BRACTS: Lowest leaflike, sheathless, dark-auricled, shorter to longer 

than the inflorescence; upper reduced.

SPIKES: 2-7, erect or nodding, ovoid to oblong-ovoid, 10-24 mm long, 

7-10 mm wide, crowded, but not densely capitate-clustered, sessile or the 

lowest often on a stiff peduncle. Terminal: Gynaecandrous, broadly 

clavate (pistillate flowers sometimes few). Lateral: Gynaecandrous

(staminate flowers few); perigynia 15-20, appressed.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate or oblong-ovate with an acute to acuminate tip, longer or shorter than the perigynia and narrower, dark reddish 

brown to almost black with a lighter midrib and sometimes with whitishhyaline margins.

PERIGYNIA: Broadly oval to obovate, flattened, glabrous or papillateroughened, stramineous or suffused with dark purple or black with pale 

or greenish margins and usually darker center, 3-4 mm long, 1.5-3 mm 

wide. Nerves: Absent except for the two marginal nerves. Beaks: Slender, 

reddish black, scarcely cleft or bidentate, 0.5 mm long.

ACHENES: Trigonous, not sharply angled, tending to be short-stipitate, 

yellowish brown at maturity, 1.2-2.2 mm long, 0.75-1 mm wide, much 

smaller than the perigynium. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Common in wet meadows and on 

open, dry slopes at moderate to high elevations. Circumboreal. In 

North America extending south to southern Oregon, California, Idaho, 

Nevada, Utah, northern Arizona, western Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 2.
132 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex hoodii. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 133

Carex hoodii Boott

Hood sedge

HABIT: Densely clustered from very short, stout, black, fibrillose roots.

Culms: Slender, sharply triangular, 2-8 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, 

strongly aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 2-3, borne on the lower part of the culm, but not clustered.

Blades: Flat, 1.5-3.5 mm wide. Sheaths: Tight, very thin ventrally, 

truncate at the mouth.

BRACTS: Lowest sheathless, rudimentary to 1.5 cm long, but shorter 

than the inflorescence; upper inconspicuous.

SPIKES: 4-8, androgynous, sessile, indistinguishable and closely to 

loosely aggregated into a dense, stiff, ovoid or oblong-cylindric green to 

brown inflorescence 1-2 cm long; perigynia spreading at maturity.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate-triangular with an acute or cuspidate 

to acuminate tip, shorter and narrower than the perigynia, greenish 

to stramineous or coppery brown and scarious with a green midrib and 

hyaline margins.

PERIGYNIA: Narrowly elliptic to broadly elliptic-ovate, truncate at the 

base when fresh, abruptly tapered to a pointed base when dry, strongly 

plano-convex, serrulate along the margins to the middle or below, glossy, 

coppery brown with broad green sharp-edged margins, 3.5-5 mm long, 1.5-

2.5 mm wide. Nerves: Several inconspicuous or lacking on both surfaces; 

marginal nerves present, sometimes appearing ventromarginal. Beaks:

Abruptly contracted, but more sharp-edged than wing-margined, serrulate, 

obliquely cleft, 0.7-1.5 mm long.

ACHENES: Quadrate-orbicular, lenticular, yellowish brown, 1.7-2.1 mm 

long, 1.3-1.7 mm wide. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Common and widespread in the 

mountains from foothills to near timberline on open and thinly wooded 

slopes and in dry or moderately moist meadows and forest openings. 

British Columbia to California and east to Alberta, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, 

Wyoming, Colorado, and South Dakota. May-August.

DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS: The species is characterized by 

its glossy, coppery-brown perigynia with broad green margins.
134 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex hystricina. (A) Inflorescence, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 135

Carex hystricina Muhl.

Bottlebrush sedge, porcupine sedge

HABIT: Cespitose from short, stout rhizomes, sometimes forming dense 

patches. Culms: Sharply triangular, often roughened above, 1.5-10 dm 

tall, reddish-tinged at the base, slightly aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 3-7, not clustered. Blades: Flaccid, flat with slightly revolute 

margins, thin, glabrous, septate-nodulose, yellowish green, 2-10 mm 

wide. Sheaths: Membranous, ribbed ventrally, mostly green, concave at 

the mouth; basal sheaths becoming filamentose.

BRACTS: Leaflike, barely sheathing; lowest exceeding the inflorescence; 

upper reduced.

SPIKES: Several, green, ascending-spreading. Staminate: terminal, 

peduncled, linear, brown, 1-5 cm long, 2.5-4 mm wide. Pistillate: 1-4, 

oblong or oblong-cylindric, densely flowered, 1-6 cm long, 10-15 mm wide, 

approximate or the lowest strongly remote and nodding; perigynia spreading, porcupine-like.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate or oblanceolate, equaling or much narrower and shorter than the perigynia, 1-6 mm long, scarious or hyaline, 

ciliate-serrulate distally, pale to reddish brown with a 3-nerved green to 

reddish center; the center excurrent as a long, rough awn, 2-6 mm long.

PERIGYNIA: Slightly inflated, lanceolate or lance-ovoid, rounded at the 

short-stipitate base, thin-textured, glabrous and glossy, light green or 

greenish-stramineous, 5-7 mm long, 1.5-2 mm wide. Nerves: Prominently 

12-20 ribbed on each surface; marginal nerves not evident. Beaks: Slender, 

2-2.5 mm long, deeply bidentate with the teeth erect and rigid.

ACHENE: Obovoid-triangular, trigonous, thickened at the blunt angles, 

granular, brownish, 1.2-2 mm long, 0.9-1.3 mm wide, continuous with 

the slender, bony style that becomes flexuous at maturity. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Seldom collected. Occasional on wet 

ground near streams, meadows, and marshes from lowlands to middle 

elevations. Washington to Quebec, south to California, Arizona, Texas, 

Virginia, and Kentucky. May-July.
136 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex illota. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 137

Carex illota Bailey

Sheep sedge, small-headed sedge

HABIT: Cespitose from short, creeping rhizomes. Culms: Slender but stiff, 

roughened at the angles below the inflorescence, 1-3(4) dm tall, exceeding 

the leaves, slightly aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 2-5, clustered near the base. Blades: Flat or channeled, 

1-3 mm wide. Sheaths: Tight, truncate to shallowly concave and sometimes yellowish brown at the mouth.

BRACTS: Small, inconspicuous, short awned, scarious golden to dark 

brown with narrow hyaline margins.

SPIKES: 3-6, short, sessile, gynaecandrous, dark brown to greenish 

black or more commonly black, indistinguishable and closely aggregated 

into a dense, suborbicular head that is lobate in outline, 6-15 mm long and 

5-12 mm wide; perigynia spreading with exserted tips, giving a ragged 

appearance to the spike.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Broadly ovate with an obtuse tip, shorter 

and narrower than the perigynia, dark brown or greenish black with a 

yellowish-brown center and very narrow, obscure, gold-hyaline margins.

PERIGYNIA: Lanceolate to narrowly ovate, plano-convex, sharp-edged 

above, not wing-margined, raised margins below, slightly spongy at the 

base, smooth, greenish-fuscous to brown or brownish-stramineous toward 

the base, 2.5-3.2 mm long, 0.9-1.3 mm wide. Nerves: Several, faint dorsally; none or few, obscure ventrally. Beaks: Tapering, smooth, entire 

margined throughout, not serrulate, 0.8-2 mm long, dark at the dorsal 

suture, obliquely cleft at the tip.

ACHENES: Broadly oval, lenticular, substipitate, yellowish brown, 

1.2-1.5 mm long, 0.8-1 mm wide. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Often abundant on wet mountain 

meadows, boggy montane lakeshores, and streambanks. High altitudes.

British Columbia, Washington, and northwestern Montana, south to 

California, Nevada, central Idaho, Utah, and Colorado. July-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 9.
138 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex interior. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 139

Carex interior Bailey

Inland sedge

HABIT: Densely tufted from short, dark-colored rhizomes. Culms: Slender, firm, wiry, sharply triangular, 1.5-5 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, 

slightly aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 3. Blades: Thin, flat or slightly channeled, 1-3 mm wide. 

Sheaths: Tight, membranous, truncate to shallowly concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: Small and inconspicuous, scarcely different from the pistillate 

scales.

SPIKES: 2-6, gynaecandrous, short sessile, stramineous to reddish 

brown, approximate or remote. Terminal: With a conspicuous, slender, 

staminate base. Lateral: Sometimes wholly pistillate; perigynia few, 

widely spreading at maturity.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Broadly ovoid with an obtuse tip, shorter than 

the perigynia, yellowish brown with a green center and broad whitehyaline margins, becoming stramineous at maturity.

PERIGYNIA: Ovate or triangular-ovate to broadly lance-triangular, 

plano-convex, plump, firm, somewhat leathery, spongy thickened at the 

base, shining, olive green becoming brown, 1.9-3.3 mm long, 1.5-2 mm 

wide. Nerves: 4-12 dorsally, 0-7 ventrally; marginal nerves raised proximally, thin edged distally. Beaks: Broad, serrulate-margined distally, 

very shallowly bidentate, 0.5-1.0 mm long.

ACHENES: Broadly ovate-orbicular, lenticular, 1.2-1.8 mm long, 0.9-

1.5 mm wide, jointed to the short, stout style. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Widely distributed in wet meadows, bogs, swamps, and along streambanks at moderate to higher 

elevations. British Columbia to Labrador and south to California, Utah, 

northern Mexico, Kansas, and Pennsylvania. Seldom collected in the 

Intermountain area, but expected in appropriate habitats. May-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See C. echinata.
140 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex jonesii. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, (D) achenes. 

B through D: Left and center—dorsal views; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 141

Carex jonesii Bailey

Jones sedge

HABIT: Mostly clustered or arising singly on short, compactly branched 

rhizomes. Culms: Slender, sharply triangular, 1.5-6 dm tall, exceeding 

the leaves, somewhat aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 3-4, closely clustered near the base. Blades: Flat, 1.5-3 

mm wide. Sheaths: Ventral side pale and thin, plane or seldom crosscorrugated, truncate or concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: Short and inconspicuous, sheathless, not much larger than 

the pistillate scales.

SPIKES: 4-8, androgynous, small, sessile, chestnut brown, few-flowered, 

indistinguishable and densely aggregated into an orbicular or short-oblong 

head 8-20 mm long, 6-12 mm wide; perigynia divaricate (widely spreading) at maturity.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Triangular-ovate, with acute to acuminate tips, 

equaling or shorter than the perigynia and sometimes concealing them, 

brown to black with a lighter midvein, hyaline-scarious.

PERIGYNIA: Ovate-lanceolate to lance-triangular or broadly lanceolate, 

plano-convex, commonly with raised margins proximally, slightly spongy 

at the base, shining, brown to orange brown or stramineous, sometimes 

partly green, 2.5-4.8 mm long, 0.9-1.4 mm wide. Nerves: Several on both 

surfaces, sometimes dark-colored. Beaks: Tapered gradually or abruptly, 

sharp-edged, smooth to slightly serrulate, obliquely cleft, obscurely bidentate, about 0.5-2 mm long.

ACHENES: Broadly obovate, lenticular, substipitate, dark golden brown, 

1-1.8 mm long, 0.5-1 mm wide. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: From plentiful to scattered in moist 

or wet meadows, bogs, and along streambanks at moderate to high 

elevations in the mountains. Through the mountains of eastern Oregon 

to central Idaho and at scattered locations in Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, 

and Colorado. June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 9.
142 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex lanuginosa. (A) Pistillate scales, (B) perigynia, (C) achenes, 

(D) inflorescences. A through C: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 143

Carex lanuginosa Michx.

Woolly sedge

SYNONYM: C. pellita Muhl.

HABIT: Stems arising singly or few together from well-developed, creeping 

rhizomes. Culms: Stiff, erect, sharply triangular, dark red at the base, 

3-11 dm tall, often shorter than the leaves, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 2-5, borne well above the base. Blades: Flat with revolute 

margins, dull green, 2-5 mm wide. Sheaths: Wine red-tinged and deeply 

concave at the mouth; the lower sheaths breaking and becoming crossfilamentose.

BRACTS: Leafy, sheathless or very short-sheathing, equaling or slightly 

exceeding the inflorescence.

SPIKES: Several, elongate, brown or greenish to reddish purple. Terminal: Staminate, slender, peduncled, 2-5 cm long, often closely subtended 

by 1 or 2 shorter, sessile staminate spikes. Lateral: 2-3, pistillate,

oblong-cylindric, closely many-flowered, rather remote, 1-5 cm long, 5-8 

mm wide; perigynia widely spreading, sessile or the lowest one on an 

erect, slender peduncle.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Lanceolate, long-acuminate or mucronate at 

the tip with a densely hairy awn, somewhat ciliate, narrower and often 

shorter than the perigynia, reddish brown with a broad 3-nerved green 

or pale center and hyaline margins.

PERIGYNIA: Broadly ovoid or broadly ellipsoid, suborbicular in cross 

section, somewhat inflated, rounded at the sessile base, somewhat spongy, 

thick-walled, coriaceous, densely short-hairy, brownish green to reddish 

brown, often paler toward the base, (2.5)3-5 mm long, 1.5-2 mm wide. 

Nerves: Numerous, hidden by the pubescence. Beaks: 0.5-1.5 mm long,

deeply bidentate, forked.

ACHENES: Broadly obovoid, trigonous with slightly concave to roundish 

sides and blunt angles, yellowish brown to medium brown, 1.5-2 mm long, 

1-1.5 mm wide. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Common and widespread along 

streambanks and in wet meadows, swamps, and other wet places, sometimes in shallow water, also on somewhat dry ground. From lowlands 

to moderate elevations in the mountains. Alaska to New Brunswick, 

south to California, New Mexico, and Tennessee. Occurring in appropriate 

habitats throughout the Intermountain area. April-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: C. lanuginosa—Culms sharply triangular; leaves 

flat; ligules long and membranous; perigynium beak forked. C. lasiocarpa—

Culms obtusely triangular; leaves inrolled or folded; ligules short, thick, 

tough; perigynium beak bidentate, but usually not forked.
144 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex lasiocarpa. (A) Pistillate scales, (B) perigynia, (C) achenes, 

(D) inflorescences. A through C: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 145

Carex lasiocarpa Ehrh.

Wool-fruit sedge, slender sedge

HABIT: Stems arising singly or few together from long, creeping rhizomes. Culms: Slender, obtusely triangular, smooth, wine red at the base, 

3-12 dm tall, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 2-5, borne well above the base. Blades: Inrolled or folded at 

least distally, long-attenuate, light green, 1-1.5(2) mm wide. Sheaths:

Yellowish-brown-tinged ventrally, concave at the mouth; the lower sheaths 

long, breaking and becoming strongly cross-filamentose.

BRACTS: Sheathless or nearly so, equaling or exceeding the inflorescence.

SPIKES: Several, greenish to brown or purplish brown, rather remote. 

Staminate: Usually 2; the terminal peduncled, 1.5-6 cm long; the lateral 

shorter and sessile, subtending the terminal. Pistillate: 1-3, oblongcylindric, sessile or nearly so, 1-4.5 cm long, closely flowered; perigynia 

ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, somewhat ciliate 

at the tip, purplish brown with a broad 3-nerved green or pale center and 

narrow, dull-hyaline margins, narrower than the perigynia; the lower mucronate-awned and exceeding the perigynia; the upper acute and shorter.

PERIGYNIA: Ellipsoid to ovoid, somewhat inflated, round-tapering at 

the base, contracted at the apex, coriaceous, short-hairy, soft, dull brown 

to green, 2.8-5 mm long, 1.5-2 mm wide. Nerves: Numerous, sometimes 

obscure. Beaks: Shallowly bidentate, usually not forking, 0.5-1.2 mm long.

ACHENES: Broadly obovoid, trigonous with blunt angles, yellowish brown 

to darker brown, 1.5-2.1 mm long, 1.5 mm wide. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Locally common in swamps and 

wet meadows at mid elevations in Idaho, western Montana, and Utah. 

Alaska to Newfoundland, irregularly southward to Oregon and through 

Iowa to New Jersey. May-September.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See C. lanuginosa.
146 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex lenticularis. (A) Pistillate scales, (B) perigynia, (C) achenes, (D) inflorescences. 

A through C: Left and center—dorsal views; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 147

Carex lenticularis Michx.

Lens sedge, lenticular-achened sedge, tufted sedge

HABIT: Cespitose, forming large clumps or tussocks. Culms: Slender, 

erect, 1-8 dm tall, shorter to longer than the leaves, brown at the base, 

phyllopodic or somewhat aphyllopodic, leaves of the previous year not 

obvious.

LEAVES: 4-9, clustered on the lower one-third of the culm. Blades: Erect, 

thin, flat above, 1-4 mm wide. Sheaths: Sometimes yellowish-browndotted ventrally, concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: Leaflike, erect, very short-sheathing, equaling or exceeding 

the inflorescence.

SPIKES: 3-6, erect, elongate, bicolored with green and reddish purple, 

more or less remote. Terminal: Staminate, sometimes with a few basal 

perigynia, linear, pedunculate, 0.8-3 cm long, 2.5 mm wide. Lateral: 3-5,

pistillate, erect, cylindric, often attenuate toward the base, 1.5-5 cm long, 

3-5 mm wide, sessile or the lower ones peduncled, closely flowered above, 

approximate; perigynia ascending, early deciduous. 

PISTILLATE SCALES: Suborbicular-ovate to oblong-ovate with an obtuse tip, narrower and often shorter than the perigynia, dark reddish- or 

brownish-red-tinged with a broad, 3-nerved green center not extending 

to the apex, hyaline along the margins.

PERIGYNIA: Ovate, broadly elliptic or sometimes narrowly elliptic, 

biconvex and sharply 2-edged, round-tapering or rounded-truncate at the 

slender base, short-stipitate, slightly swollen just above the stipe (torulose), membranaceous, green, sometimes slightly yellow-glandular-dotted, 

1.8-3.5 mm long, 1-1.8 mm wide. Nerves: Few on both surfaces, some 

extend prominently toward the beak when dry. Beaks: Well-defined, firm, 

slender, entire with a dark tip, 0.1-0.3 mm long.

ACHENE: Oblong-quadrangular, lenticular, papillate, sessile to broadly 

stipitate, brown, 1.-1.5 mm long, 0.8-1.6 mm wide. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Widespread in North America. Wet 

meadows, springs, lakeshores, and streambanks. Sea level to higher 

elevations, but not reaching timberline. California, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, 

Wyoming, Montana, and Colorado. May-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 3.
148 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex leporinella. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 149

Carex leporinella Mack.

Sierra-hare sedge

HABIT: Densely tufted without creeping rhizomes. Culms: Stiff, sharply 

triangular, smooth, 1-3 dm tall, equaling or exceeding the leaves, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 3-5(8), borne on the lower one-fourth of the culm. Blades:

Involute, firm, 0.75-1.5 mm wide. Sheaths: Hyaline ventrally, usually 

concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: The lowest sheathless, setaceous-tipped, shorter than to about 

equaling the inflorescence; the upper reduced.

SPIKES: 3-10, gynaecandrous, sessile, greenish brown to brown, 

6-12 mm long, individually distinct but aggregated into a stiff, erect, 

oblong, or ovoid-globose head 1.2-3.5 cm long, 4-8 mm wide; perigynia 

closely appressed.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Oblong-ovate with an acute or obtuse tip, commonly concealing the perigynia, reddish brown with a pale or greenish 

midrib and white-hyaline margins.

PERIGYNIA: Ovate to elliptic-ovate or linear-oblanceolate, plano-convex, 

widest about the middle, very narrowly wing-margined (wings typically 

curved toward the ventral surface) and serrulate above, brown to stramineous or partly greenish, especially the upper margins, 3.2-4.2 mm long, 

0.8-1.2 mm wide. Nerves: Fine, numerous on both sides or few ventrally. 

Beaks: Tapered, 1 mm long; margins flattened, serrulate; tip very short, 

terete, smooth, obliquely cleft, deeply bidentate; apex and dorsal flap of 

the suture white-hyaline.

ACHENES: Obovoid-oblong, lenticular, substipitate, pale to medium 

brown, 1.4-2 mm long, 0.7-0.9 mm wide. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Infrequent and local on open, rocky 

slopes and flats, and in meadows from moderate to high elevations. 

Southern Washington south through the White Mountains of California 

and eastward through northeastern Oregon, central Idaho, Utah, and 

western Wyoming. July-September.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See C. ebenea.
150 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex leptalea. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, (D) achenes. 

B through D: Left and center—dorsal views; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 151

Carex leptalea Wahl.

Bristlestalked sedge, flaccid sedge

HABIT: Stems usually densely clustered from slender, freely branching 

rhizomes. Culms: Triangular, slender, sometimes arching, 1.5-7 dm tall, 

exceeding the leaves, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 2. Blades: Flat or canaliculate, thin, soft and lax, deep green, 

0.5-1.3 mm wide. Sheaths: Membranous, brownish-tinged at maturity, 

concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: None.

SPIKES: Solitary, androgynous, erect, linear-oblong, green to yellowish green, 4-16 mm long, 2-3 mm thick; staminate portion often short 

and slender, 0.5-0.8 mm wide, sometimes inconspicuous; perigynia few, 

subalternate on the rachis, appressed-ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate-orbicular, small, shorter than the perigynia, green to brown, deciduous; the lowest sometimes elongate and 

resembling a setaceous bract; the upper obtuse to short-awned, early 

deciduous.

PERIGYNIA: Oval-elliptic, circular in cross section and somewhat 

two-edged, spongy at the base, slightly tapered to a rounded, entire or 

emarginate apex, often substipitate, pale green or yellowish green to 

stramineous throughout, membranaceous, 2.5-5 mm long, 1-1.5 mm wide. 

Nerves: Finely many-striate on both surfaces; marginal nerves present. 

Beaks: Lacking.

ACHENES: Oblong-ovoid, triquetrous, glossy, yellow to brown, nearly 

filling the perigynium, 1.3-2 mm long, 0.8-1 mm wide, the style deciduous; 

rachilla absent. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Occasional in sphagnum bogs and 

swamps, often along small streams, lake shores, and on low, wet ground. 

Lower to higher elevations. Alaska to Labrador and south to northern California, Idaho, northeastern Utah, Colorado, Texas, and Florida. 

May-August.
152 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex limosa. (A) Pistillate scales, (B) perigynia, (C) achenes, 

(D) inflorescences. A through C: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 153

Carex limosa L.

Mud sedge, shore sedge

HABIT: Clums arising singly or few together; rhizomes slender, scaly; 

roots covered with a yellowish-brown tomentum. Culms: Slender, sharply 

triangular, reddish at the base, 2-6 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, usually 

aphyllopodic, old leaves present.

LEAVES: 1-3. Blades: Canaliculate or deeply channeled, somewhat 

glaucous, gray green, 1-3 mm wide. Sheaths: Thin, hyaline ventrally, shallowly concave at the mouth; lower sheaths sometimes slightly filamentose.

BRACTS: The lowest narrowly leaflike or occasionally setaceous, sheathless or short-sheathed, brown-auricled, 2-10 cm long; the upper reduced.

SPIKES: 2-4, reddish to yellowish brown on long, nodding peduncles. 

Terminal: Staminate, erect or drooping, linear, 1-3 cm long, 2.5 mm 

wide. Lateral: 1-3, pistillate, occasionally with a few staminate flowers 

at the tip, nodding, 1-2.5 cm long, 5-8 mm wide, not crowded; perigynia 

appressed or ascending to spreading.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Variable in size and shape, commonly ovate to 

suborbicular, short-tapering, obtuse or cuspidate at the apex, narrower 

and shorter than the perigynia to nearly equaling them, yellowish brown 

to dark reddish brown with a green 1- to 3-nerved center.

PERIGYNIA: Broadly ovoid, somewhat compressed, rounded-truncate 

and substipitate at the base, rounded at the apex or broadly tapering to 

a very short conic tip, coriaceous, densely papillate, yellowish green or 

glaucous-green to stramineous, 2.3-4.2 mm long, 2 mm wide. Nerves: 4-7 

evident on each face; marginal nerves prominent. Beaks: Absent or up to 

0.2 mm long, entire or emarginate.

ACHENES: Oblong-ovoid, trigonous, sessile, light brown becoming dark 

brown at maturity, 1.5-2.7 mm long, 1-1.8 mm wide, loosely filling the 

perigynium. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Occasional in sphagnum bogs and 

wet meadows at higher elevations. Circumboreal. In North America 

extending south to California, Idaho, and Montana. Reported from isolated locations in Nevada (Elko County), Utah (Uinta Mountains), and 

Wyoming. July-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: C. limosa—Leaves canaliculate or channeled; 

pistillate scales yellowish to reddish brown, usually 3-nerved, obtuse to 

acuminate; staminate spike generally stiff, 1-3 cm long. C. paupercula—

Leaves flat, pistillate scales brown, 1-nerved, short-awned; staminate 

spike shorter, 4-15 mm long, usually slenderly pedunculate.
154 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex livida. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, (D) achenes. 

B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 155

Carex livida (Wahl.) Willd.

Livid sedge, pale sedge

HABIT: Stems arising singly or few together from slender, creeping rhizomes. Culms: Slender, erect, triangular, 0.5-6 dm tall, longer or shorter 

than the leaves, phyllopodic, basal leaves persistent.

LEAVES: 6-12, mainly basal. Blades: Firm, narrow, often channeled, 

somewhat glaucous, 0.5-3.5 mm wide. Sheaths: Smooth, thin, membranous, concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: The lowest leaflike with the sheath well-developed, equaling 

or exceeding the inflorescence; the upper reduced.

SPIKES: 2-4, green to yellow green, sessile or short-pedunculate. Terminal: Staminate, erect, linear, 0.7-3 cm long, 3-4 mm wide. Lateral:

Pistillate, narrowly oblong, slender, loosely flowered, 1-2.5 cm long, 

5 mm wide, approximate to somewhat remote; perigynia appressed.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate, obtuse to somewhat acute or mucronate at 

the tip, equaling or shorter and narrower than the perigynia but partially 

enveloping the perigynia bases, the center broad and pale green with white 

or brown hyaline-scarious margins.

PERIGYNIA: Narrowly rhombic or elliptic, obtusely trigonous with a 

broadly short-stipitate base when dry, broadly tapered at the apex, coriaceous, puncticulate or papillate, glaucous-green, 2.2-4.5 mm long, 1.2-2.4 

mm wide. Nerves: Lacking or obscure on both faces; marginally ribbed. 

Beaks: Absent or up to 0.2 mm long; orifice darkly rimmed, entire.

ACHENES: Broadly ovoid, trigonous, dark brown at maturity, 2-

3.5 mm long, 0.9-1.8 mm wide, jointed to the style. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Peat bogs and swampy woods from 

low to moderately high elevations. Circumboreal. In North America 

from Alberta to Washington and east through northern Idaho, Montana, 

Utah (Uinta Mountains), and Wyoming to Michigan and New Jersey. 

May-July.
156 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex luzulina. (A) Pistillate scales, (B) perigynia, (C) achenes, (D) inflorescences. 

A through C: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 157

Carex luzulina Olney

Wingseed sedge, woodrush sedge

HABIT: Densely cespitose from short, slender rhizomes. Culms: Fibrillose and brownish-tinged at the base, 1.5-9 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, 

aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 6-12, mostly crowded near the base, some cauline. Blades:

Flat, thick, stiff, 3-9 mm wide. Sheaths: Hyaline ventrally, convex to 

concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: Leaflike, long-sheathing, shorter than the inflorescence, usually u-shaped or truncate.

SPIKES: 3-6, erect, greenish brown or brown to reddish brown. Terminal:

Staminate or androgynous, sessile or subsessile, 1-2 cm long, slightly 

exceeding the uppermost pistillate spike. Lateral: Pistillate or androgynous, oblong, 1-3 cm long, 6-9 mm wide; the upper crowded, sessile; the 

lower remote, long-pedunculate; perigynia spreading-ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate, obtuse to acute or erose at the tip with 

the midvein often extending to the apex, shorter than the perigynia, 

glabrous to ciliate at the tip, reddish brown or purple with a paler center 

and hyaline margins.

PERIGYNIA: Lanceolate with ciliate-serrulate margins, somewhat 

flattened-trigonous or compressed, glabrous or occasionally ciliate, 

puncticulate, light green to yellow green, often purplish-black-tinged, 

3-4.5 mm long, 0.9-1.6 mm wide. Nerves: Few, obscure on both faces; 

present on the sharp-edged margins. Beaks: Ill-defined, tapering, ciliate, 

bidentulate, 0.5-1 mm long.

ACHENES: Obovoid, sharply trigonous with concave sides, slenderly stipitate, brown when mature, 1.3-2 mm long, 0.7-1.1 mm wide. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Common in mountain meadows and 

bogs. Foothills to timberline. British Columbia south to California and 

east to Idaho, Nevada, Utah (Wasatch and Tushar Mountains), southwestern Montana, and western Wyoming. June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 8.
158 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex mariposana. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left and center—dorsal views; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 159

Carex mariposana Bailey

Mariposa sedge

HABIT: Densely cespitose from very short rhizomes. Culms: Slender, 

more or less erect, 2.5-8 dm tall, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 3-5 on the lower one-fourth of the culm. Blades: Flat, firm, 

rather thick, 2-3 mm wide. Sheaths: Tight, hyaline ventrally, smooth or 

cross-rugose, truncate at the mouth.

BRACTS: The lowest short and inconspicuous, sheathless, scarioussetaceous, much shorter than the spike, the upper reduced.

SPIKES: 4-12, gynaecandrous, sessile, greenish to reddish brown, 

closely or loosely aggregated into an oval or oblong head 1.7-3.5 cm long; 

lower spikes slightly to widely separate; perigynia appressed-ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate or lance-ovate with an acute to acuminate tip, narrower than the perigynia and shorter than to equaling them 

in length, reddish brown with hyaline-scarious margins and a paler 

midrib.

PERIGYNIA: Lance-ovate to ovate, plano-convex, tapering at the apex, 

wing-margined and serrulate above, membranous, deep green, becoming 

straw-colored or reddish brown, especially in the center, 3.4-5(5.3) mm 

long, 1.1-1.2 mm wide. Nerves: Several, conspicuous on both faces. Beaks:

Ill-defined, long and slender, tapering, smooth toward the tip, about onethird of the perigynium length, reddish brown; the tip terete, entire.

ACHENES: Elliptic to ovate, lenticular, shiny brown, 1.5-2 mm long, 

1-1.5 mm wide, jointed to the style. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Dry meadows and slopes in montane 

and subalpine areas. California to Nevada and north to Custer County, 

Idaho. June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 1.
160 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex mertensii. (A) Inflorescence, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, (D) achenes. 

B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 161

Carex mertensii Prescott

Merten sedge

HABIT: Sparsely to densely clustered from short rhizomes. Culms:

Erect, sharply triangular and narrowly winged, very rough on the angles, 

3-12 dm tall, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 3-6, scattered on the lower one-half of the culm. Blades: Flat 

with slightly revolute margins, 3-10 mm wide. Sheaths: Rather loose, 

brownish-tinged, membranous and hyaline ventrally.

BRACTS: The lowest leaflike, sheathless or nearly so, exceeding the 

inflorescence; the upper reduced.

SPIKES: 5-10, drooping, cylindric, reddish tan to stramineous, 1-4 cm long, 

7-9 mm wide. Terminal: Evidently gynaecandrous, varying to almost 

entirely staminate. Lateral: Pistillate or with a few staminate flowers 

at the base, closely flowered; perigynia appressed-ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate-lanceolate with the tip acute or mucronate, much narrower and shorter than the perigynia, exposing much of 

their margins, dark reddish brown with a conspicuous, pale-nerved center 

and narrow hyaline margins.

PERIGYNIA: Broadly ovate or obovate, very thin and flattened except 

where distended by the achene, rounded at the base, abruptly contracted at 

the apex, papery, light green, becoming whitish or pale brown, red-spotted 

to reddish toward the beak, 4-5.4 mm long, 2.1-3.5 mm wide. Nerves: 

Finely few-nerved on both faces; marginal nerves present. Beaks: Slender, 

very short, reddish-tipped, entire or emarginate, 0.1-0.7 mm long.

ACHENES: Oblong-obovoid, trigonous, stipitate, yellowish brown to 

silvery brown, 1.3-2 mm long, 0.7-1.1 mm wide. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Locally common. Open rocky slopes 

and wet places in forests. Low to high elevations. Alaska and Yukon 

south to Washington, Oregon, California (Klamath Mountains), central 

Idaho, and western Montana. May-August.
162 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex microglochin. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes (left and center) and section of perigynium showing rachilla 

extending beyond the beak orifice (right). B and C: Left (and C center)—

dorsal view; right—ventral view. D: Left—dorsal view; center—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 163

Carex microglochin Wahl.

Small-tipped sedge

HABIT: Culms arising singly or few together from slender, creeping 

rhizomes. Culms: Slender, erect, stiff, prominently ribbed, terete to 

semiterete, smooth, brownish at the base, exceeding the leaves, 2-25 cm 

tall, phyllopodic.

LEAVES: 4-8, clustered toward the base. Blades: Erect-ascending, involute, stiff, 0.3-0.6 mm wide. Sheaths: Thin, membranaceous ventrally, 

truncate at the mouth.

BRACTS: None.

SPIKES: Solitary, androgynous, yellowish brown to golden brown when 

mature, 7-15 mm long, 6-9 mm wide, few-flowered; perigynia ascending 

but soon deflexed and easily detached.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Oblong to ovate-triangular with an acute to 

obtuse tip, wider but much shorter than the perigynia, light chestnut 

brown with a lighter center, scarious or with hyaline margins, very early 

deciduous.

PERIGYNIA: Linear-lanceolate, suborbicular in cross section, obliquely 

substipitate and round-truncated at the base, spongy, smooth, shiny, 

membranaceous, light green to brownish green or straw-colored, 3-5 mm 

long, 0.8-1 mm wide. Nerves: Many-striated on both surfaces. Beaks:

Not well differentiated from the body, smooth, long tapering; the orifice 

prominently hyaline, obliquely truncate, filled with the projecting rachilla.

ACHENES: Narrowly oblong-ovoid, trigonous with somewhat rounded 

angles, yellowish brown to brownish, 2.5 mm long, 0.5-0.75 mm wide, 

abruptly contracted into and continuous with the long, slender, straight, 

barely exserted style; rachilla longer than the achene. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Rare and local in moist, sunny, 

usually calcareous boggy habitats in meadows of alpine zones. Alaska 

to Quebec and Greenland and south to western Montana, Utah, and 

Colorado. June-July.
164 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex microptera. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 165

Carex microptera Mack.

Small-winged sedge

HABIT: Densely tufted without creeping rhizomes. Culms: Sharply triangular above, conspicuously striate, 2-10 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, 

slightly aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 3-5, borne on the lower one-third of the culm. Blades: Flat, 

firm, 2-4.5 mm wide. Sheaths: Tight, white-hyaline ventrally, truncate 

at the mouth.

BRACT: Sheathless, setaceous above an expanded, scarious-margined 

base, short-awned, shorter to slightly longer than the inflorescence or 

reduced and not much different from the pistillate scales.

SPIKES: 5-10, gynaecandrous, sessile, green to greenish black, becoming brown at maturity, not over 1 cm long, indistinguishable and densely 

aggregated into an ovoid or suborbicular, truncate-based head, 12-20 mm 

long and 10-16 mm wide; perigynia spreading-ascending at maturity.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate-lanceolate with an acute tip, narrower 

and shorter than the perigynia, scarious or hyaline-scarious, light to dark 

brown or greenish black with a faint midrib.

PERIGYNIA: Broadly ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, thin and flattened 

except where distended by the achene (occasionally air trapped within the 

perigynium makes it appear plano-convex), serrulate to the middle and 

narrowly to broadly wing-margined to the round-tapering base, varying 

from green to stramineous, often tan, or brown to blackish medially and 

along the edges, 2.9-5 mm long, 1.1-2.4 mm wide. Nerves: Several, light 

or obscure on each side. Beaks: Ill-defined, gradually tapered, one-half to 

one-third the length of the body, serrulate except the distal 0.3 to 0.6 mm 

that is subterete, dark-tipped, obliquely cleft, obscurely bidentate or entire.

ACHENES: Broadly ovoid to obovoid, lenticular, brown at maturity, 

1-1.6 mm long, 0.7-1.4 mm wide. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Common species of moist or wet 

places, from foothills to moderately high elevations in the mountains. 

British Columbia and Saskatchewan south to California, Arizona, and 

South Dakota. May-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 1.
166 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex multicaulis. (A) Perigynia subtended by pistillate scales, (B) inflorescences.

A

B
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 167

Carex multicaulis Bailey

Many-stemmed sedge

HABIT: Loosely to densely cespitose in rather small tufts; rhizomes short 

or prolonged. Culms: Numerous, terete or obtusely triangular, 1.5-6 dm 

tall, mostly exceeding the leaves, very rarely the leaves elongated and 

surpassing the culms, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 1-2, near the base. Blades: Folded or involute, 1-2 mm wide. 

Sheaths: Thin hyaline and ribbed ventrally, truncate to shallowly concave 

at the mouth.

BRACTS: None, the lowest pistillate scale is bractlike.

SPIKES: Solitary, androgynous, elongate, green becoming stramineous 

or brown; staminate part linear and compact, 1-2.5 cm long; pistillate part 

with 1-6 appressed-ascending perigynia.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Persistent, lowest leaf like, surpassing the 

inflorescence, upper ones oblong-obovate with a green center and whitehyaline margins, progressively reduced upward; uppermost scales shorter 

than or equaling the perigynia.

PERIGYNIA: Oblong-ovate or ellipsoid, triangular, short-stipitate, pale 

greenish or brown, 5-8 mm long, 2.2-2.5 mm wide. Nerves: Many, faintly 

obscure on both surfaces or lacking; present on the margins. Beaks: Obsolete or short, abruptly contracted, minutely ciliate.

ACHENES: Obpyramidal, trigonous, 4-6 mm long, 2.1-2.3 mm wide, 

filling the perigynium and commonly exserted at the tip; the rachilla 

persistent. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Common on dry soils of dense or open 

forests. Low to moderate elevations. From the Cascade Mountains and 

Klamath region of southern Oregon through the coast ranges and Sierra 

Nevada Mountains of California. Apparently isolated in northeastern 

Nevada. April-June.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See C. geyeri.
168 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex multicostata. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 169

Carex multicostata Mack.

Many-ribbed sedge

HABIT: Loosely to densely tufted without creeping rhizomes. Culms:

Stout, multi-striate, 1.5-9 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 3-4, crowded toward the base. Blades: Flat, 2-6 mm wide.

Sheaths: Membranous and hyaline ventrally, truncate at the mouth.

BRACTS: Setaceous or short and inconspicuous, scarious, brownish, 

sheathless, much shorter than the inflorescence.

SPIKES: 3-10, gynaecandrous, sessile, green to dark brown, readily 

distinguishable but crowded in a narrow to pyramidal head 1-4 cm long 

and up to 2 cm wide; perigynia appressed to spreading-ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate with an obtuse to acute or slightly cuspidate tip, somewhat shorter and narrower than the perigynia, scarious, 

light reddish brown to dark brown with a pale 3-nerved center and broad, 

shining white-hyaline margins.

PERIGYNIA: Narrowly to broadly ovate, plano-convex, abruptly tapered at the apex, serrulate to below the middle and wing-margined to 

the rounded base, thick-walled, subcoriaceous, green to stramineous or 

brown with greenish upper wing margins, 3.5-6.3 mm long, 1.5-2.5 mm 

wide. Nerves: 10 or more on each surface, obscure to conspicuous, longitudinally sulcate-wrinkled dorsally, fine-nerved or smooth ventrally.

Beaks: Subterete or flattened; the distal 0.5-1.0 mm marginless, entire 

or bidentate, dark at the tip.

ACHENES: Quadrate-suborbicular, lenticular, substipitate, yellow or 

light brown, 1.7-2.7 mm long, 1.1-1.7 mm wide. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Uncommon to frequent in wet to dry 

meadows, along streambanks, and on open, moist slopes at moderate 

elevations. From the Cascade-Sierran region of Washington, Oregon, and 

California through eastern Oregon, Nevada, central Idaho, and Montana. 

July-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: C. multicostata—Usually with a more or less 

pyramidal inflorescence and ovate perigynia that are green with a light 

center and a broadly tapered base. C. specifica—Usually with an elliptic 

to oblong inflorescence and lanceolate, stramineous perigynia with brown 

or darker center and a narrowly tapered base.
170 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex nardina. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, (D) achenes. 

B through D: Left (and C, center)—dorsal view; right ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 171

Carex nardina Fries

Spikenard sedge

SYNONYM: C. hepburnii Boott.

HABIT: Densely cespitose without creeping rhizomes. Culms: Slender, 

terete, smooth and wiry, 1-1.5 dm high, shorter to longer than the leaves, 

phyllopodic, old leaf sheaths persistent, forming a fasciculate base.

LEAVES: Few, mostly basal. Blades: Very slender, involute, stiff and 

wirelike, 0.25-0.5 mm wide, 1-10 cm long. Sheaths: Abruptly contracted 

into the blade, thin, hyaline, truncate at the mouth.

BRACTS: None.

SPIKES: Solitary, androgynous, oblong to ovoid, stramineous to reddish brown, 1.5 cm long, 2-4 mm wide; perigynia 5-15, erect-appressed.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate to obovate or orbicular with an acute 

to obtuse or rounded tip, the lower ones occasionally mucronate-awned, 

brown with a paler midvein and hyaline margins, equaling the perigynia 

in both width and length.

PERIGYNIA: Lanceolate to oblong-obovate, biconvex or plano-convex, 

tapering to the base, round-tapering or abruptly contracted at the apex, 

sharply angled along the margins, obscurely serrulate or glabrous distally, coriaceous, stramineous, reddish toward the apex, 3-4.5 mm long, 

1.25-2 mm wide. Nerves: Lacking or obscure to prominent and numerous 

on both surfaces. Beaks: Up to 0.8 mm long, serrulate, hyaline-tipped, 

emarginate or obliquely cleft.

ACHENES: Lenticular or trigonous, dark dull brown at maturity, 1.6-

2 mm long, 1-1.2 mm wide; rachilla well-developed. Stigmas: 2 or 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Dry alpine summits, cliff crevices, 

talus, and open dry slopes at high elevations. Circumboreal. In North 

America extending south to Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, 

and Colorado. June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 7.
172 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex nebrascensis. (A) Pistillate scales, (B) perigynia, (C) achenes, (D) inflorescences. 

A through C: Left and center—dorsal views; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 173

Carex nebrascensis Dewey

Nebraska sedge

HABIT: Culms arising singly from long, stout, scaly rhizomes, sometimes 

forming dense stands. Culms: Coarse, sharply triangular, brown to 

reddish-tinged at the base, 2-12 dm tall, shorter to longer than the leaves, 

phyllopodic, dried leaves of the previous year present.

LEAVES: 8-15, loosely clustered, borne on the lower one-fourth of the 

culm, light green to more commonly glaucous and bluish green. Blades:

Thick, firm, flat or channeled toward the base, septate-nodulose, 3-12 mm 

wide. Sheath: Membranous to hyaline ventrally, concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: Leaflike, not sheathing, dark-auricled; the lowest usually 

exceeding the inflorescence.

SPIKES: 3-6, slender, elongate, bicolored green and reddish purple when 

immature, rather remote. Terminal: 1 or 2, staminate, broadly linear, 

1.5-4 cm long, 3-6 mm wide, the lower staminate spike often smaller 

than the upper. Lateral: 3-5, pistillate, erect, the upper ones may be 

androgynous, oblong to cylindric, sessile or the lower ones pedunculate, 

1.5-7 cm long, 5-9 mm wide, approximate or sometimes remote, very closely 

30- to 150-flowered; perigynia ascending to spreading.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Lanceolate with an acuminate or occasionally 

obtuse tip, narrower than and shorter than to longer than the perigynia, 

reddish or brownish black, often with hyaline margins; the excurrent 

greenish midrib often extending to a serrulate awn.

PERIGYNIA: Oblong-ovate, unequally biconvex, flattened or slightly 

inflated, usually leathery, granular, sessile, straw colored or yellowish 

brown to light brown, becoming red-dotted at maturity, 2.7-4.1 mm long, 

1.5-2.5 mm wide. Nerves: 5-10 on both surfaces, obscure to prominent; 

marginal nerves prominent. Beaks: Abruptly contracted to prominently 

or obscurely bidentate, somewhat dark and subciliate between the teeth, 

0.2-1 mm long.

ACHENE: Obovate, elliptic or nearly orbicular, lenticular, light to dark 

brown, 1.2-2.5 mm long, 0.9-1.8 mm wide. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Wet meadows, swamps, and ditches, 

often in alkaline soil from lowlands to moderate elevations. Common 

and widely distributed, wholly east of the Cascade Mountains. British 

Columbia south to California and east to New Mexico, Kansas, and South 

Dakota. One of the more tolerant sedges to disturbances such as grazing. 

May-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 3.
174 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex nelsonii. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, (D) achenes. 

B through D: Left and center—dorsal views; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 175

Carex nelsonii Mack.

Nelson sedge

HABIT: Loosely cespitose from short, slender, creeping rhizomes. Culms:

Stiff, erect, fibrillose, brown, slightly dark red tinged at the base, 1.5-3 dm 

tall, exceeding the leaves, slightly aphyllopodic, dried leaves of previous 

year present.

LEAVES: 5-12, closely clustered near the base. Blades: Thick, flat with 

revolute margins, channeled at the base, short-attenuate, 3-4 mm wide.

Sheaths: Whitish ventrally, truncate at the mouth.

BRACTS: Scalelike and inconspicuous or the lowest slightly prolonged, 

sheathless, shorter than the inflorescence.

SPIKES: 2-4, sessile, golden brown to reddish black, closely aggregated, 

more or less indistinguishable, forming a dense, oblong or obovoid head, 10-

12 mm long, 5-10 mm wide. Terminal: Gynaecandrous, rather clavate 

at the base. Lateral: Pistillate, densely flowered; perigynia appressed.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate or lance-ovate with the tip obtuse or 

slightly acute, shorter and narrower than the perigynia, black, often 

conspicuously rough-papillose, the midvein obsolete and upper margins 

slightly or nonhyaline.

PERIGYNIA: Oblong to oblong-obovoid, somewhat inflated, tapered 

to rounded at the base, abruptly contracted at the apex, papillate and 

ciliate-serrulate on the margins above, puncticulate, yellow green, strongly 

blotched with dark reddish black, 4 mm long, 1.5 mm wide. Nerves: Absent 

except for the two lateral ribs. Beaks: Cylindric, sparsely ciliate-serrulate, 

reddish black, bidentate, 1 mm long.

ACHENES: Obovoid, trigonous, apiculate, substipitate, granular, yellowish green to brown, 1.5 mm long, 0.75 mm wide. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Frequent in mountain meadows and 

on rocky slopes at higher elevations. Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado. 

July-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: C. nelsonii—In the Intermountain Region above 

3,660 m in the Uinta Mountains of Utah; perigynia smaller (4 mm long, 

1.5 mm wide), puncticulate, granular, slightly compressed, and mostly 

dark except for the margins. C. nova—Occurs at elevations lower than 

3,050 m; perigynia larger (2.8-4.5 mm long; 2-3.5 mm wide), flattened, 

membranous, and pale throughout except for the beak.
176 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex nervina. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, (D) achenes. 

B through D: Left and center—dorsal views; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 177

Carex nervina Bailey

Nerved sedge

HABIT: Cespitose, often forming large clumps from short rhizomes.

Culms: Sharply angled, sometimes winged, spongy when fresh, 4-8 dm 

tall, equaling or exceeding the leaves, slightly phyllopodic.

LEAVES: 4-6, not clustered at the base. Blades: Flat, 3.5-5 mm wide.

Sheaths: Hyaline, smooth or prominently ribbed ventrally, green- and 

white-mottled dorsally, truncate or U-shaped with a thick rim at the 

mouth.

BRACTS: Short and inconspicuous.

SPIKES: Several, androgynous, greenish brown or brown to reddishtinged, densely aggregated into an oblong or oblong-ovoid head 1.5-3 cm 

long and 6-18 mm wide, indistinguishable except for the lower ones which 

are sometimes separate; perigynia widely spreading at maturity.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate with an obtuse to acute tip, equaling or 

shorter than the perigynia and about as wide, thin, brownish with pronounced white-hyaline margins and a pale center.

PERIGYNIA: Broadly lanceolate to narrowly ovate, plano-convex, widest at the truncate base, distended by spongy tissue at maturity, tapered 

above and contracted at the apex, sharp-margined, substipitate, smooth, 

green to shiny brown, 2.8-4.5 mm long, 1-1.8 mm wide. Nerves: Numerous, conspicuous. Beaks: Slender, slightly serrulate, obliquely cleft, 

0.8-1.7 mm long.

ACHENES: Ovate, lenticular, abruptly tapered at the base, rounded 

above, medium brown, 1.2-1.8 mm long, 1-1.3 mm wide, jointed to the 

style. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: In moist to wet places along streams 

and in meadows at moderate elevations. From the Cascade Mountains 

through southern Oregon to northern California and western Nevada. 

June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 9.
178 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex neurophora. (A) Pistillate scales, (B) perigynia, (C) achenes, (D) inflorescences. 

A through C: Left and center—dorsal views; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 179

Carex neurophora Mack.

Alpine nerved sedge

HABIT: Clustered without creeping rhizomes. Culms: Sharply triangular, 

2-8 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, strongly aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 4-5, borne on the lower part of the culm but not clustered. 

Blades: Flat, 1.5-3.5 mm wide. Sheaths: Tight, pale, often with dark 

veins, conspicuously cross-corrugate ventrally at least near the mouth 

(occasionally some or all plane), commonly convex and occassionally appearing cartilaginous at the mouth.

BRACTS: Small and inconspicuous, sheathless, setaceous, shorter than 

the inflorescence.

SPIKES: 5-10, androgynous, sessile, brown, reddish-tinged, few-flowered, indistinguishable and densely aggregated into an ovoid to oblong 

head 1.5-2.5 cm long and 6-15 mm thick; mature perigynia spreading.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate, largely hyaline-scarious, brown or 

brownish-stramineous with a green or pale midrib, as wide as the perigynia, but only half as long.

PERIGYNIA: Lanceolate or lance-triangular, plano-convex, tapering more 

or less evenly from the base to the apex, sharp-edged, minutely serrulate 

distally, short-stipitate, shining, brownish-stramineous to dark chestnut, 

lighter colored and somewhat spongy at the base, 2.9-4 mm long, 0.8-

1.5 mm wide. Nerves: Finely striate, prominent or riblike, numerous on 

both surfaces. Beaks: Tapered, more or less lightly serrulate distally, 

one-half the length of the body, obliquely cleft, scarcely bidentate.

ACHENES: Ovate, lenticular, 1.1-1.6 mm long, 0.8-1 mm wide, jointed 

to the style. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Swamps, moist or wet meadows, and 

streambanks at moderate elevations in the mountains. Washington and 

Oregon east to Idaho, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. Reported 

from Elko County, Nevada. July-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 9.
180 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex nigricans. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 181

Carex nigricans C. A. Meyer

Black alpine sedge

HABIT: Sometimes loosely cespitose from long, stout, creeping rhizomes.

Culms: Stiff, obtusely angled to semi-terete, 0.4-3 dm tall, phyllopodic,

dried leaves present at the base.

LEAVES: 4-9, crowded near the base. Blades: Stiff, flat or channeled, 

4-13 cm long, 1.5-3 mm wide. Sheaths: Thin, hyaline, truncate at the 

mouth.

BRACTS: None.

SPIKES: Solitary, androgynous, rarely wholly staminate or wholly 

pistillate, oblong or oblong-ovoid, dark brown to black, 7-20 mm long, 

6-10 mm thick; perigynia 20-50, dense, appressed-ascending, becoming 

widely spreading and deciduous at maturity.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Broadly ovate with obtuse to acute tips, equaling or shorter than the perigynia, black, thin-margined, sometimes with 

a pale midrib, soon becoming spreading and deciduous as the fruit approaches maturity, each scale leaving a conspicuous ridge on the spike 

axis. Staminate scales: persistent, appressed.

PERIGYNIA: Lanceolate to narrowly ovate, smooth and shining, slenderstipitate, dark brown or black distally, paler and more stramineous or 

greenish toward the base, 3-4.5 mm long, 0.8-1.5 mm wide. Nerves: Absent 

to conspicuously nerved or with marginal nerves only. Beaks: Tapering, 

terete, narrow, smooth, obliquely cleft, 0.5 mm long.

ACHENES: Oblong-elliptic, somewhat unequally trigonous, 1.1-2 mm 

long, 0.6-0.9 mm wide, jointed to the style; rachilla obsolete. Stigmas: 3 

or sometimes 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Common in meadows, along streambanks, and in other moist or wet places at high elevations in the mountains. Alaska to California, eastern Oregon, Utah (Uinta and Wasatch 

Mountains), and Colorado. Not yet recorded from Nevada. June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 4.
182 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex norvegica. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales (center scale subtends 

a perigynium), (C) perigynia, (D) achenes. B through D: Left and center—dorsal 

views; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 183

Carex norvegica Retz.

Norway sedge, Scandinavian sedge

HABIT: Loosely to densely tufted on a compact system of slender, branched 

rhizomes. Culms: Slender, lax, sharply triangular above, 2-8 dm tall, 

exceeding the leaves, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 5-7, aggregated toward the base, but some cauline. Blades: Pale 

green, flat, soft, glabrous, 1.5-3 mm wide. Sheaths: Ventrally hyaline, 

truncate to concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: Generally leaflike, sheathless, shorter to longer than the 

inflorescence.

SPIKES: 2-5, erect or closely ascending, sessile or short-pedunculate, 

bicolored with green and blackish purple, relatively small, approximate. 

Terminal: Gynaecandrous, short-oblong to suborbicular, slender at 

the base, 3.5-14 mm long, 3-5 mm wide. Lateral: Pistillate, seldom over 

10 mm long, closely 8- to 25-flowered; perigynia ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Broadly ovate with an obtuse tip, equaling or 

shorter than the perigynia and usually as wide, purplish black to brownish 

black with white-hyaline margins, the midrib inconspicuous or sometimes 

lighter.

PERIGYNIA: More or less obovate, elliptic, distended by the achene, 

glabrous but minutely rough-textured, coppery yellow or light green to 

sometimes dark purple, 2.1-3 mm long, 1-1.3 mm wide. Nerves: Absent, 

inconspicuous, or few on both surfaces; marginal nerves well-developed.

Beaks: Black or dark reddish-tinged, bidentate, 0.3-0.5 mm long.

ACHENES: Trigonous, sessile, pale to brown, 1.2-1.7 mm long, 0.7-1 mm 

wide. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Frequent on moist, open slopes and in 

partially shaded microhabitats in subalpine meadows and along streambanks at high elevations. Circumboreal. Alaska to Labrador and south 

through Washington, New Mexico, and Michigan. In the Intermountain 

area in California (White Mountains), Nevada (Ruby Mountains), Idaho, 

and Utah. June-August.
184 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex nova. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 185

Carex nova Bailey

Black sedge, new sedge

HABIT: Densely tufted on a system of short, branched, sometimes scarcely 

evident rhizomes. Culms: Somewhat lax, brownish to reddish at the base, 

1.5-6 dm tall, often exceeding the leaves, slightly aphyllopodic, sheaths 

of the previous year persistent.

LEAVES: 8-15, clustered at the base. Blades: Erect, firm, flat with slightly 

revolute margins, roughened at the attenuate apex, 2-5 mm wide. Sheaths: 

Very thin, hyaline, concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: Slender, inconspicuous to foliaceous-prolonged, sheathless, 

shorter than the inflorescence.

SPIKES: 3-5, short, broad, obscurely bicolored with greenish black to 

brown and tan, closely aggregated and difficult to differentiate in a densely 

capitate, lobate inflorescence. Terminal: Gynaecandrous with few staminate flowers, sessile, commonly about 1 cm long. Lateral: Pistillate, 

crowded, rarely over 1 cm long; perigynia spreading.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate-oblong to linear-oblong with an obtuse to 

acuminate tip, equaling or shorter than the perigynia and about as wide, 

dark brown to purplish black throughout.

PERIGYNIA: Broadly elliptic to oblong or subrotund, strongly flattened, 

membranous, glabrous, substipitate, stramineous or green to dark purple 

or brown with pale margins, 2.8-4.5 mm long, 2-3.5 mm wide. Nerves:

Marginal nerves present, ciliate-scabrous. Beaks: Abruptly contracted, 

slender, black, shallowly or obscurely bidentate, 0.3-0.6 mm long.

ACHENES: Trigonous, commonly sharp-angled, evidently stipitate, 

brown, 1.5-2 mm long, 1 mm wide, much smaller than the perigynium. 

Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Common in meadows and on moist, 

open slopes and streambanks at high elevations in the mountains, often 

above timberline. Oregon (Harney County), central Idaho, Nevada (Elko 

County), Utah, western Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. 

June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See C. nelsonii.
186 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex obtusata. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, (D) achenes. 

B through D: Left and center—dorsal views; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 187

Carex obtusata Liljeblad

Obtuse sedge, blunt sedge

HABIT: Scattered on elongate, dark, scaly, tough, but mostly slender 

rhizomes. Culms: 1-3 together, slender, triangular, rough, reddish to reddish brown at the base, 0.5-2 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: Several, crowded near ground level. Blades: Stiff, flat or channeled, 0.5-1.5 mm wide. Sheaths: Tight, hyaline, somewhat thickened and 

truncate at the mouth; older sheaths with reddish brown spots.

BRACTS: None.

SPIKES: Solitary, androgynous, stramineous to chestnut, 5-15 mm 

long, 3-6 mm wide; staminate portion well-developed; perigynia 1-10, 

spreading-ascending at maturity.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate to ovate-lanceolate with a sharply acute 

or cuspidate tip, shorter to longer than the perigynia, thin, pale brown to 

chestnut with hyaline margins and often paler midvein.

PERIGYNIA: Oblong-obovoid (suborbicular-triangular in cross section), 

plump, thick-walled, coriaceous, glossy, dark chestnut or blackish brown, 

3-4 mm long, 1.5-2 mm wide. Nerves: Numerous, prominent on both surfaces. Beaks: Contracted, smooth, 0.5-1 mm long; tip hyaline, obliquely 

cleft, bidentate.

ACHENES: Oblong-obovoid to orbicular, trigonous, yellowish to creamy 

brown, 1.75 mm long, 1 mm wide; the rachilla well-developed, often with 

a flattened terminal appendage. Stigmas: 3, usually persistent.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Infrequent to locally common in open, 

fairly dry, often grassy places. Plains and foothills to high elevations

in the mountains. Yukon and Manitoba south to Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico and across the plains to South Dakota, 

Nebraska, and Minnesota. June-August.
188 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex occidentalis. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 189

Carex occidentalis Bailey

Western sedge

HABIT: Densely clustered from short, stout, creeping black, fibrillose 

rhizomes. Culms: Slender, semi-terete to sharply triangular, smooth below, roughened above, 1.5-8 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: Several. Blades: Flat with slightly revolute margins, 1-2.5 

mm wide. Sheaths: Tight, thin, brownish, truncate to shallowly concave 

at the mouth.

BRACTS: Setaceous to poorly developed or none.

SPIKES: 4-10, androgynous, stramineous to brown or reddish-tinged, 

forming an oblong to linear-oblong head 1.5-3.5 cm long; the upper spikes 

aggregated and indistinguishable; the lower somewhat separate; staminate flowers inconspicuous; perigynia loosely ascending or spreading.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate-triangular with an acuminate or shortawned tip, equal in length but wider than the perigynia, brownish with 

opaque or narrow hyaline margins and green center.

PERIGYNIA: Oblong-elliptic, plano-convex, sparingly serrulate above 

the middle, stipitate, green to straw-colored, smooth and shiny, brown at 

maturity, 2.5-4.5 mm long, 1.5-1.9 mm wide; margins sharp, narrow, green, 

smooth, shiny. Nerves: Inconspicuous or absent, marginal only. Beaks:

Abruptly narrowed, serrulate, flat, shallowly to deeply bidentate, 0.2-

1.2 mm long.

ACHENES: Oblong-orbicular, lenticular, light brown at maturity, 1.3-

2.4 mm long, 0.9-1.5 mm wide. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Occasional to frequent in dry habitats, 

generally at mid elevations, but extending upward to subalpine or 

alpine areas. Southern California to Nevada, Utah, Arizona, southern 

Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. July-August.
190 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex oederi. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 191

Carex oederi Retz.

Green sedge

SYNONYMS: C. oederi Retz. var. viridula Kükenth; C. viridula (Michx.) 

Kükenth.

PLANT HABIT: Cespitose. Culms: Smooth and not prominently angled, 

0.6-4 dm tall, shorter to longer than the leaves, phyllopodic.

LEAVES: 4-8, basal and cauline or all basal. Blades: Elongate, sometimes 

flat, tending to be channeled, narrow, bright green or yellowish green, 

1-3 mm wide. Sheaths: Thin, hyaline, truncate to shallowly concave at 

the mouth.

BRACTS: Conspicuous, leaflike, elongate, surpassing the inflorescence; 

bracts subtending spikes in the terminal cluster sheathless, those subtending remote spikes with well-developed sheaths and long blades.

SPIKES: 3-6, sessile or short-pedunculate, green, becoming stramineous, heads varying from aggregated to remote. Terminal: Staminate, 

linear, 3-21 mm long. Lateral: Pistillate, stout, 5-14 mm long, 4-7 mm 

wide, compound, the lower spikes sometimes remote; perigynia 15-30, 

crowded, spreading.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Obovate with a short-cuspidate or obtuse tip, 

shorter and narrower than the perigynia, medium brown to stramineous 

except for the firm, light or green midrib and narrow, more or less whitehyaline margins, or sometimes wholly pale and hyaline-scarious except 

for the midrib.

PERIGYNIA: Obovoid, distended by the achene but distally empty and 

slightly inflated, pale or bright green to stramineous or yellow, 2-3.5 

mm long, 0.9-1.5 mm wide. Nerves: Several to many on each surface, 

prominent and riblike; marginal nerves present. Beaks: Narrowly conic, 

abruptly contracted, slightly bent, very shortly bidentate, 0.6-1.2 mm long.

ACHENES: Tapered at the base, truncate at the apex, trigonous, golden 

brown to dark brown, 1-1.8 mm long, 0.8-1.1 mm wide, jointed to the 

style. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Infrequent. On sphagnum or sandy 

or saline soils on wet, low ground. Sea level to moderate elevations. 

Circumboreal. In North America extending south to northern California, 

southern Nevada, Idaho, Utah, New Mexico, Indiana, and New Jersey. 

June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See C. flava.
192 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex pachystachya. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 193

Carex pachystachya Cham.

Chamisso sedge, thick-headed sedge

HABIT: Small, dense clumps from short, black rhizomes. Culms: Slender, 

conspicuously striate, 1.5-10 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 3-5, borne on the lower one-third of the culm. Blades: Flat, 

(1.5)2-5(6.5) mm wide. Sheaths: Tight, white-hyaline ventrally, truncate 

or concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: Small and inconspicuous, setaceous.

SPIKES: 4-12, gynaecandrous, sessile, greenish black, becoming golden 

brown or dark brown, 7-12 mm long, closely aggregated into a dense 

suborbicular or oblong head 1-2.5(3) cm long and 7-15 mm thick (but occasionally all or the lower spikes separate); perigynia ascending-spreading 

to spreading at maturity.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate with an acute tip, often shorter and 

somewhat narrower than the perigynia, chestnut brown to reddish brown 

or blackish throughout.

PERIGYNIA: Narrowly to broadly ovate, plano-convex, base and 

margins often filled with spongy tissue, abruptly tapering at the apex, 

wing-margined and narrowly serrulate, tan with pale green or greenishstramineous margins, copper-colored or golden brown at maturity, 2.8-

5 mm long, 1.1-2.3 mm wide. Nerves: Several, fine dorsally; generally 

few, obscure, or lacking ventrally; usually with prominent inframarginal 

nerves delimiting the wing. Beaks: Slender, less than half the length 

of the body; the tip short or long, terete, smooth, dark brown, entire to 

shallowly bidentate.

ACHENES: Short-oblong, ovate, lenticular, flat ventrally, convex dorsally, 

green, becoming brown at maturity, 1.2-1.9 mm long, 0.8-1.5 mm wide. 

Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Locally common in wet to moist meadows, open woods, and on rather dry slopes from sea level to timberline. 

From coastal Alaska south to California and east through Alberta, Idaho, 

and western Montana. Occasional in northern Wyoming. June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 1.
194 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex parryana. (A) Pistillate scales, (B) perigynia, (C) achenes, (D) inflorescences. 

A through C: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 195

Carex parryana Dewey

Parry sedge

HABIT: Loosely tufted with scaly, long or short creeping rhizomes. Culms:

Stiff, obtusely triangular, reddish-tinged, 1.5-6 dm tall, exceeding the 

leaves, phyllopodic, dried leaves of previous years conspicuous.

LEAVES: 5-12, crowded near the base of the culm. Blades: Thin, firm 

and stiff, flat to channeled with revolute margins, 2-4 mm wide. Sheaths:

Very thin ventrally, concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: Sheathless or nearly so, reddish-tinged at the base, usually 

shorter than the inflorescence.

SPIKES: 1-5, slender, cylindric, purplish to reddish brown. Terminal:

Frequently staminate, gynaecandrous, or with intermingled male and 

female flowers, short-peduncled, 1.5-3 cm long, usually longer than the 

lateral spikes. Lateral: Pistillate, erect, linear, 0.7-2 cm long, 2-4 mm 

wide; perigynia appressed.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Suborbicular with the tip obtuse or shortmucronate, equaling the perigynia and concealing them, stramineous 

to dark reddish brown with a green midrib and white-hyaline margins.

PERIGYNIA: Broadly obovoid, unequally trigonous, tapering at the base, 

somewhat rounded toward the apex, glabrous, short-stipitate, stramineous but reddish-tinged and rough-granular or shortly strigose-hirtellous 

toward the apex, 1.6-3 mm long, 1-1.5 mm wide. Nerves: Nearly absent on 

both surfaces; marginal nerves prominent. Beaks: Very short or obsolete, 

often slightly to strongly ciliate, bidentulate, 0.1-0.2 mm long.

ACHENES: Obovoid, trigonous or triquetrous, slightly granular, shortstipitate, brown, 1.4-1.8 mm long, 1-1.25 mm wide, jointed to the style. 

Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Rare to infrequent and very local. In 

meadows, swales, and on low, moist ground around streams and lakes. 

Prairies and high plains at moderate elevations in the mountains. 

Chiefly east of the Continental Divide from Alberta to Manitoba south to 

central and eastern Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, northern Utah, Wyoming, 

Colorado, and North Dakota. Isolated in central Nevada and in the White 

Mountains of California. June-August.
196 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex paupercula. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 197

Carex paupercula Michx.

Little sedge, poor sedge

HABIT: Loosely clustered in small tufts from short or long rhizomes; 

roots covered with a yellowish brown tomentum. Culms: Slender, reddish brown to brown at the base, 1-8 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, often 

phyllopodic, old leaves persistent.

LEAVES: 3-12, borne on the lower one-half of the culm. Blades: Flat, 

sometimes with slightly revolute margins, 2-4 mm wide. Sheaths: Very 

thin, plain or red-dotted ventrally, concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: The lowest leaflike, sheathless to slightly sheathing, reddish 

at the node, 2-10 cm long, equaling or exceeding the inflorescence; the 

upper reduced.

SPIKES: 1-5, pedunculate, bicolored with green and blackish brown or 

chestnut. Terminal: Staminate or occasionally with a few perigynia 

above, erect to somewhat lax, linear, 4-15 mm long and 2-4 mm wide. 

Lateral: Pistillate, often with a few staminate flowers at the base, erect 

or nodding, suborbicular to oblong, 4-22 mm long, 4-8 mm wide; perigynia ascending, the spreading pistillate scales giving the spikes a ragged 

appearance.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, tapering at the 

apex, often with a short awn, narrower and longer than the perigynia, 

light to dark brown; midrib prominent, with or without a green midstripe.

PERIGYNIA: Elliptic to ovate, compressed-trigonous, thick, occasionally 

somewhat flattened and two-edged, coriaceous, densely papillate, stipitate, stramineous or glaucous-green, often dark brown toward the apex, 

2.2-3(3.8) mm long, 1.7-2.2 mm wide. Nerves: 3-6, obscure to prominent 

on each face; marginal nerves prominent. Beaks: Absent or very short, 

entire or emarginate, 0.1 mm long.

ACHENES: Ovoid-oblong, trigonous, slightly tapered to the base, apiculate, yellowish green becoming brownish, 2 mm long, 1.2 mm wide, loosely 

enveloped in the perigynium. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Infrequent or rare in sphagnum bogs 

and wet meadows at middle elevations. Circumboreal. In the Intermountain area in Washington, Nevada (Elko County), northern Idaho, Utah 

(Uinta Mountains), Wyoming, and Colorado. June-August. 

SIMILAR SPECIES: See C. limosa.
198 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex paysonis. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 199

Carex paysonis Clokey

Payson sedge

HABIT: Culms borne singly or few together from sparse, coarse, creeping rhizomes. Culms: Stiffly erect, sharply triangular, brownish-tinged, 

becoming fibrous at the base, 1-5 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 8-15, clustered near the base. Blades: Firm, flat, 2-8 mm wide 

with a slight bluish cast. Sheaths: Short, thin and fragile, yellowishtinged, truncate to concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: The lower 1 or 2 leaflike, sheathless, dark-auricled, equaling 

or shorter than the inflorescence; the upper reduced.

SPIKES: 2-6, erect, sessile, or the lower pedunculate and nodding, stout. 

Terminal: Staminate or occasionally androgynous, linear or narrowly oblong, 1.5-3.25 mm long, 3-4.5 mm wide. Lateral: 3-5, pistillate 

or androgynous, erect, cylindric to oblong, 0.5-2.5 cm long, 4-6 mm 

wide, approximate or remote, densely flowered; perigynia appressedascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate to ovate-lanceolate, acute to acuminate, 

equaling or somewhat shorter and narrower than the perigynia, dark 

reddish brown with a pale midrib.

PERIGYNIA: Broadly elliptic, elliptic-ovate, or subrotund, flattened 

(when pressed) or inflated, contracted at the apex, thin-walled, glabrous 

or finely papillate, pale or partly to wholly purplish, 2-4.3 mm long, 1.5-2.2 

mm wide. Nerves: Few, prominent to obscure or absent on both surfaces. 

Beaks: Abrupt, shallowly or scarcely bidentate, 0.2-0.5 mm long.

ACHENES: Trigonous, sessile or nearly so, 1.2-1.7 mm long, 1 mm wide, 

brown, much narrower and shorter than the perigynia. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Common in moist meadows and on 

open, often rocky slopes at high elevations. Northeastern Oregon through 

central Idaho, eastern Nevada, Utah (Uinta Mountains), and Wyoming. 

June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: C. paysonis—Terminal spike staminate or with a 

few perigynia at the base; perigynia ascending, inflated (fresh material), 

coarse-nerved, thin-walled. C. raynoldsii—Terminal wholly staminate; 

perigynia spreading-ascending and not as inflated, striately nerved with 

thick, tough walls. The perigynia of C. raynoldsii appear plump and conspicuous in the inflorescence. The achenes (1.8-2.5 mm long, 1.1-1.7 mm 

wide) are much larger than those of C. paysonis (1.2-1.7 mm long, 1 mm 

wide) and usually fill most of the perigynium cavity (except for the flat 

distal margins).
200 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex perglobosa. (A) Pistillate scales, (B) perigynia, (C) achenes, 

(D) inflorescences. A through C: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 201

Carex perglobosa Mack.

Globe sedge, Mount Baldy sedge 

HABIT: Loosely cespitose from slender, creeping, dark brown branching 

rhizomes. Culms: Erect, terete or semi-terete, smooth, 3-20 cm tall, shorter 

to longer than the leaves, phyllopodic.

LEAVES: 3-6, closely clustered toward the base. Blades: Fascicled, flat, 

thick and firm, 0.75-3 mm wide. Sheaths: Thin-hyaline ventrally, old 

sheaths present.

BRACTS: None or inconspicuous to elongate and green, almost equaling 

the inflorescence.

SPIKES: Numerous, androgynous, sessile, light to dark brown, indistinguishable, closely compact into a globose or ovoid to broadly oblong head 

10-18 mm long; perigynia ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate-orbicular with an obtuse to acute tip, 

equaling the perigynia, very thin, shiny, hyaline-scarious except for the 

slender midrib, brown with hyaline margins and apex.

PERIGYNIA: Broadly elliptic or ovate-elliptic, plano-convex to inflated 

or flattened, tapering to a broad or pointed base and to the apex, very 

thin-walled, thin margined, without wings, shiny-brown or greenish-stramineous, 3.6-4.7 mm long, 1.75-2.6 mm wide. Nerves: Several toward the 

base on both sides, faint; marginal nerves prominent. Beaks: Ill-defined, 

thin, darkly colored; the tip obliquely cleft or bidentulate.

ACHENES: Ovate to obovate, lenticular, light brown, 1.4-1.7 mm long, 

1-1.2 mm wide. Stigmas: 2, slender.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Dry, open slopes and summits at 

high elevations. Southeastern Utah and Colorado. July-September.
202 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex petasata. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 203

Carex petasata Dewey

Liddon sedge

HABIT: Tufted, usually without creeping rhizomes. Culms: Erect, stiff, 

smooth, 3-9 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 2-5. Blades: Flat, firm, 2-4(5) mm wide. Sheaths: Tight, whitehyaline ventrally, concave or truncate at the mouth.

BRACTS: Short and inconspicuous, sheathless, setaceous, brownishscarious.

SPIKES: 3-6, gynaecandrous, ascending, sessile, green becoming stramineous, 9-18 mm long, loosely aggregated into an erect head 2-5 cm long 

and 1-1.5 cm wide; the terminal spike often strongly clavate; the first two 

internodes mostly 3-9 mm long; perigynia loosely appressed-ascending to 

appressed, giving the ovate spike a smooth outline.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate, usually as long and as wide as the perigynia and largely concealing them, stramineous or light reddish brown 

with a paler center and broad, silvery white-hyaline margins.

PERIGYNIA: Oblong-lanceolate, plano-convex or concavo-convex, widest below the middle, wing-margined, the margins serrulate to below 

the middle, membranous, stramineous or pale green to brownish green, 

5.8-8 mm long, 1.5-2.25 mm wide. Nerves: Slender, usually numerous on 

both sides. Beaks: Terete, serrulate below, smooth above, reddish brown, 

hyaline-tipped, shallowly and obliquely cleft.

ACHENES: Oblong, lenticular, glossy, brown, 2.2-3 mm long, (1.1)1.3-

1.8 mm wide. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Frequent to common on open slopes 

of grasslands or sagebrush-grasslands, sometimes in wet or dry meadows 

and in open woods from plains to fairly high elevations in the mountains. British Columbia through Saskatchewan, south to Oregon, California 

(where rare), Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, and Arizona. 

June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 10.
204 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex phaeocephala. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left (and B and C, center)—dorsal views; 

right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 205

Carex phaeocephala Piper

Dunhead sedge, hare sedge, mountain hare sedge

HABIT: Cespitose from compactly matted roots. Culms: Slender, stiff, 

0.5-3(4) dm tall, exceeding the leaves, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 3-6, clustered near the base of the culm. Blades: Stiff, flat, 

channeled or folded, 0.5-2.5(3) mm wide. Sheaths: Tight, hyaline, concave 

to convex at the mouth.

BRACTS: The lowest inconspicuous, sheathless, awn-tipped, shorter 

than the inflorescence.

SPIKES: 3-7, gynaecandrous, sessile, green, becoming brown or reddish 

brown, 7-14 mm long, borne in a stiff and compact or slightly loose head 

mostly 1-3.5 cm long and 0.5-1.2 cm wide; the first internode up to 10 mm 

long, the second 2-6 mm long; perigynia appressed to ascending-spreading.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate with an acute tip, as long and as wide 

as the perigynia and largely concealing them except for the beak tips, 

brownish black to reddish brown with a lighter center and broad hyaline 

margins.

PERIGYNIA: Oblong to broadly ovate, more or less flat to plano-convex 

or concavo-convex, slightly tapered toward the blunt base, often widest 

near the center, tapering to the apex, winged to the base and serrulate 

above, subcoriaceous, tan or brown to brownish-black, commonly with 

greener bluish-tinged margins, 3.5-6 mm long, 1.2-2.5 mm wide. Nerves:

Several dorsally, lacking or sometimes evident ventrally. Beaks: Tapering, 

usually terete and slender, serrulate below, nearly smooth above, dark 

brown, white-hyaline at the tip, obliquely cleft.

ACHENES: Oblong to oblong-obovoid, lenticular to plano-convex or 

concavo-convex, nearly sessile or long-stipitate, greenish brown, becoming brown at maturity, 1.5-2.3 mm long, 0.85-1.3 mm wide. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Frequent to common in open, moist 

to dry, often rocky places at high altitudes in the mountains. British 

Columbia and Alberta south to California and Colorado. Occurs in appropriate habitats throughout the Intermountain region. July-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 10.
206 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex praeceptorum. (A) Pistillate scales, (B) perigynia, (C) achenes, 

(D) inflorescences. A through C: Left and center—dorsal views; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 207

Carex praeceptorum Mack.

Early sedge, teacher sedge

HABIT: Cespitose with small clumps developing from short rhizomes. 

Culms: Sharply triangular, 1-3 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: Several, clustered toward the base. Blades: Canaliculate, light 

green, 1.2-2.5 mm wide. Sheaths: Tight, hyaline ventrally, truncate to 

shallowly concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: Inconspicuous, sheathless, largely hyaline-scarious, sometimes 

shortly awn-tipped.

SPIKES: 4-6, gynaecandrous, sessile, short, 5-12 mm long, 2.5-4 mm 

wide, green, becoming golden brown, readily distinguishable but closely 

aggregated into an elongate to ovoid or oblong-ovoid head 1-2.5 cm long; 

perigynia 9-20, ascending, slightly spreading at maturity.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate, slightly shorter than the perigynia, brown 

or chestnut-tinged with broad pale or green center and hyaline margins.

PERIGYNIA: Ovate, plano-convex, spongy-thickened from the base to 

upper body, abruptly contracted at the apex, substipitate, white-punctate 

or rough-textured, yellowish brown to brownish green, often paler than 

the scale but the exposed parts darker, 1.5-2.5 mm long, 1-1.2 mm wide. 

Nerves: Several on both sides, slightly raised and often darker than the 

body. Beaks: Sparingly serrulate, entire at the tip, 0.25-0.5 mm long; 

dorsal suture short, lighter to darker than the surrounding tissue, commonly extending the length of the beak apiculation.

ACHENES: Broadly ovate, lenticular, reddish to yellowish brown, 

1.25-1.5 mm long, 0.8-1 mm wide. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Infrequent in wet meadows, alpine 

bogs, and boggy banks of alpine streams or ponds at high elevations. 

Washington south to Oregon and California and east across central Idaho, 

Nevada (Elko County), Utah, northwestern Wyoming, and Colorado. 

July-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 5.
208 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex praegracilis. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia,

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 209

Carex praegracilis W. Boott

Blackcreeper sedge, clustered field sedge, 

field clustered sedge, silver sedge

HABIT: Culms arising singly or few together from stout, elongate, black 

or brownish black creeping rhizomes, sometimes forming dense colonies. 

Culms: Smooth, sharply triangular, 2-7.5 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, 

somewhat aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: Several, all borne near the base. Blades: Flattened or somewhat 

channeled, firm, 1-3 mm wide. Sheaths: Hyaline-membranous ventrally, 

slightly and narrowly truncate or concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: Inconspicuous, setaceous, scarious, shorter than the inflorescence.

SPIKES: 5-15, androgynous (plants sometimes dioecious), sessile, stramineous or brown, aggregated into a thick-cylindric or oblong-ovoid head 

1-5 cm long and 5-10(15) mm wide; the lower spikes sometimes separate; 

perigynia appressed-ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate with an acuminate or cuspidate tip, wider 

and longer to equaling the perigynia and completely concealing them, 

stramineous to brown with conspicuously hyaline margins and a pale 

midrib.

PERIGYNIA: Ovate to ovate-lanceolate, plano-convex to concavo-convex, 

tending to be spongy based, sharp-edged and serrulate distally, shortstipitate, light to dark brown with pale green margins when fresh, 

(2.8)3-4 mm long, 1.3-1.6 mm wide. Nerves: Several, faint dorsally, absent 

ventrally. Beaks: Prominent and tapering, obliquely cleft and sometimes 

bidentate, 0.6-1.3 mm long; the orifice with overlapping hyaline edges.

ACHENES: Obovoid, lenticular, light to dark brown, 1.2-1.9 mm long, 

1-1.4 mm wide. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: A variable and very widely distributed species of open, moist or wet, often alkaline places, but not confined 

to alkaline sites. Plains and lowlands to moderate elevations in the 

mountains. Yukon and British Columbia, south to California and Mexico 

and east to Manitoba, Iowa, and Kansas. Common in the interior of North 

America. May-August. 

SIMILAR SPECIES: See C. douglasii.
210 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex praticola. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 211

Carex praticola Rydb.

Meadow sedge

HABIT: Densely or loosely tufted without creeping rhizomes. Culms: Slender, slightly flexuous, 2-9.5 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 2-4, borne on the lower part of the culm but not closely clustered. 

Blades: Flat, 1-4 mm wide. Sheaths: Tight, thin, membranous or hyaline 

ventrally, concave or truncate at the mouth.

BRACTS: Lowest sheathless, setaceous-prolonged, green to brown, shorter 

than the inflorescence.

SPIKES: 2-7, gynaecandrous, often slender-based, sessile, approximate, 

blackish green becoming brown, 7-18 mm long; the loose head flexuous 

or nodding; the two lowest internodes each 4-15 mm long; perigynia appressed to ascending-spreading.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Narrowly ovate, nearly as long and wide as the 

perigynia and concealing them, stramineous or dull reddish brown with 

a green or lighter center and silvery-white-hyaline margins.

PERIGYNIA: Ovate-lanceolate, concavo-convex or plano-convex, tapered 

to the base, gradually tapering at the apex, wing-margined and serrulate 

to the base, semitranslucent, rather glossy, pale green to stramineous or 

brownish, (3.7)4.3-6.5 mm long, 1.3-2.5 mm wide. Nerves: Evident and 

fine dorsally, lacking or nearly so ventrally. Beaks: Ill-defined, gradually 

tapering, one-third to one-half the length of the body, commonly brown, 

serrulate, the distal 0.5 mm or more slender and entire, obliquely cleft.

ACHENES: Ovoid, lenticular, substipitate, yellow brown, 1.5-2.7 mm 

long, (0.9)1.2-2 mm wide, jointed to the style. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Infrequent, but sometimes locally 

plentiful in moist or wet meadows, along streambanks, and in moist, open 

woods. Low to moderate elevations. In North America from Alaska to 

Labrador and south to northeastern Oregon, northwestern California, 

central and southeastern Idaho, northeastern Utah, Colorado, and North 

Dakota. June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See C. aenea.
212 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex prionophylla. (A) Pistillate scales, (B) perigynia, (C) achenes, 

(D) inflorescences. A through C: Left (and B and C, center)—dorsal view; 

right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 213

Carex prionophylla Holm

Firethread sedge, saw-leaved sedge

HABIT: Densely clumped to sometimes solitary from short, stout rhizomes.

Culms: Erect or decumbent, sharply triangular, strongly serrulate at the 

angles, 4-15 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 3-5, clustered well above the base of the culm. Blades: Flat 

with slightly revolute margins, thick, scabrous, 3-6 dm long, 2-5 mm wide.

Sheaths: Strongly hispidulous dorsally, tinged with yellowish brown; 

red-dotted and fragile ventrally; basal sheaths cross-fibrillose, purplish, 

up to 15 cm long.

BRACTS: Leaflike or setaceous, sheathless, dark-auricled, 1-6 cm long, 

shorter than the inflorescence.

SPIKES: 3-5, erect and rather crowded, oblong or linear-cylindrical, 

greenish black to bluish purple. Terminal: Staminate, sometimes with 

a few basal perigynia, short-peduncled, 1.8-2.5 cm long, 3-4.5 mm wide. 

Lateral: Pistillate, or androgynous, sessile or the lowest ones slightly 

peduncled, 1-3(5) cm long, 3-4 mm wide, approximate or the lowest somewhat separate, closely 15-40 flowered; perigynia appressed.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Oblong-ovate, mostly acute at the tip, half as 

wide as and usually shorter than the perigynia, scarious, reddish brown 

to purplish black, sometimes with a lighter midvein.

PERIGYNIA: Generally elliptic to obovate or oblong-ovate, compressed, 

slightly inflated distally, loosely enclosing the achene, more or less acute 

or tapered at the minutely beaked apex, membranous and granular, pale 

greenish to coppery tan or partly suffused with purple, 2.3-3.4 mm long, 

1.2-1.7 mm wide. Nerves: Lacking except for two marginal ribs. Beaks: 

Reddish black, entire, 0.2-0.3 mm long.

ACHENES: Ovate to obovate, lenticular, subsessile, 1.2-1.7 mm long, 

1-1.2 mm wide. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Moist or wet meadows, lakeshores, 

mountain streams, and alpine tundra from middle to higher elevations. 

Northeastern Washington, northeastern Oregon, northern and central 

Idaho, and northwestern Montana. June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 3.
214 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex proposita. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, (D) achenes. 

B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 215

Carex proposita Mack.

Smoky Mountain sedge

HABIT: Densely cespitose without creeping rhizomes. Culms: Slender, 

stiff, sharply triangular and roughened above, 1-3.5 dm tall, exceeding 

the leaves, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 2-4(5), borne on the lower part of the culm. Blades: Narrow 

and firm, channeled and trigonous distally, 0.5-2.5 mm wide. Sheaths:

Tight, truncate at the mouth.

BRACTS: The lowest prolonged, but shorter than the inflorescence; the 

upper inconspicuous.

SPIKES: 2-6, gynaecandrous, sessile, brown to golden brown; individual 

spikes distinguishable, but aggregated into an ovoid or oblong head 1.5-

3 cm long and 7-18 mm wide; perigynia appressed-ascending to ascendingspreading.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Oblong-ovate to lanceolate with an obtuse or 

acute tip, shorter and much narrower than the perigynia, gold or tan to 

dark brown with narrow, hyaline margins.

PERIGYNIA: Broadly ovate to suborbicular, thin, membranous, flat, 

rounded to slightly tapered at the base, tapering or abruptly contracted 

at the apex, wing-margined and serrulate upward from below the middle, 

greenish with lighter or gold to coppery center toward the base, 3.5-

5.8(6.3) mm long, 1.7-3.1 mm wide. Nerves: Numerous, but obscure dorsally, absent ventrally; inframarginal nerves delimiting the wing from the 

cavity. Beaks: Dark brown, slender, terete, entire or bidentate, 1 mm long.

ACHENES: Oblong-ovoid, lenticular, brownish yellow, 1.4-2.1 mm long, 

0.75-1.3 mm wide. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Dry, open, rocky slopes and ridges, 

often on talus. High elevations. Washington (Wenatchee Mountains), 

California (Sierra Nevada Mountains), and central Idaho. July-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: C. proposita—Perigynium broadest at the middle; 

beak tip terete and more or less smooth; blades channeled. C. straminiformis—Perigynium broadest below the middle; beak tip more or less flat 

and ciliate-serrulate; blades flat.
216 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex pyrenaica. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left (and C and D, center)—dorsal view; 

right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 217

Carex pyrenaica Wahl.

Pyrenaean sedge

HABIT: Densely cespitose without creeping rhizomes. Culms: Erect, slender and wiry, 0.3-3 dm tall, equaling or exceeding the leaves, somewhat 

aphyllopodic, old basal sheaths persistent.

LEAVES: 2-4, often clustered near the base. Blades: Flat or deeply 

channeled, wiry, 2-10 cm long, 0.25-1.5 mm wide. Sheaths: Thin, hyaline 

ventrally, slightly concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: None. Lowest pistillate scale occasionally bractlike.

SPIKES: Solitary, dark brown to red brown, androgynous, linearoblong, 5-20 mm long, 3-5 mm wide; staminate portion small and inconspicuous; perigynia ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Lowest pistillate scale sometimes setaceous 

and bractlike, upper ones oblong to ovate with an obtuse to somewhat 

acute tips, dark brown to blackish chestnut with pale centers and narrow 

hyaline margins, shorter, but usually wider than the perigynia, early to 

tardily deciduous.

PERIGYNIA: Lanceolate to elliptic-ovate, tapering to a narrow apex, 

smooth and shiny, stipitate, dark brown or black distally, paler or green 

to stramineous below, 3-4.5 mm long, 0.7-1.5 mm long. Nerves: Lacking 

on both surfaces; marginal nerves present. Beaks: Ill-defined, obliquely 

cleft, hyaline-tipped, 0.5 mm long.

ACHENES: Somewhat obovoid, trigonous, attached to its base by a long 

slender stipe that breaks easily, pale to brown, 1.2-1.8 mm long, 0.7-1 

mm wide. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Cliff crevices, ledges, open slopes, 

and meadows at high elevations. From the cordilleran region of western 

North America south to Washington (Cascade Mountains), Oregon (Wallowa Mountains), Utah (above timberline in the Uinta Mountains), and 

Colorado. June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 4.
218 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex raynoldsii. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 219

Carex raynoldsii Dewey

Raynold sedge

HABIT: Loosely cespitose from stout, scaly rhizomes. Culms: Stout, erect, 

stiff, sharp-angled, reddish-tinged at the base, 2-8 dm tall, exceeding the 

leaves, phyllopodic or slightly aphyllopodic, dried leaves of the previous 

year conspicuous.

LEAVES: 5-10, clustered toward the base. Blades: Ascending, stiff, flat 

with revolute margins, attenuate, roughened toward the apex, 2-8 mm 

wide. Sheaths: Yellowish-tinged ventrally, concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: The lowest leaflike, sheathless, dark-auricled, equaling or 

shorter than the inflorescence; the upper reduced.

SPIKES: Several, bicolored with green and purplish black, approximate, 

sometimes capitate-crowded. Terminal: Staminate, linear, sessile, 1-2 cm 

long, 3-4.5 mm wide. Lateral: 2-4, pistillate, erect, oblong, 1-2 cm long, 

6-8 mm wide, densely flowered, the upper sessile, the lower pedunculate; 

perigynia spreading-ascending to spreading, very conspicuous.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Broadly ovate with an acute to obtuse or acuminate tip, shorter and distally narrower than the perigynia exposing much 

of their distal margins, dark reddish black with a pale midrib.

PERIGYNIA: Oval to oblong-ovoid, broadly tapering at the substipitate 

base, rounded and abruptly contracted at the apex, firm-walled, somewhat 

inflated, yellowish green to yellowish brown or suffused with brownish 

purple, (3)3.3-4.5 mm long, 1.6-2.1 mm wide. Nerves: Several on both 

surfaces, riblike or sometimes obscure especially when young and fresh; 

marginal nerves present. Beaks: Reddish-tinged, entire or very shallowly 

bidentate, 0.1-0.5 mm long.

ACHENES: Obovoid, trigonous with thick angles, minutely granular, 

broadly substipitate, yellowish brown when mature, 1.8-2.5 mm long, 

1.1-1.7 mm wide, loosely filling the perigynia except for the usually flat 

upper margins. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Common in moist or dry meadows 

and on open or wooded slopes from foothills to high elevations. British Columbia and Alberta south to California, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, and 

Colorado. June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See C. paysonis.
220 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex retrorsa. (A) Pistillate scales, (B) perigynia, (C) achenes, 

(D) inflorescence. A through C: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 221

Carex retrorsa Schwein.

Knot-sheath sedge, retrorse sedge

HABIT: Densely clustered on very short rhizomes. Culms: Stout, stiff, 

obtusely triangular below, sharply triangular distally, 2-10 dm tall, much 

exceeded by the upper leaves and bracts, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 4-7. Blades: Thin, but firm, flat, septate-nodulose, 3-10 mm 

wide. Sheaths: Long, loose, prolonged at the truncate summit; lower 

sheaths becoming cross-filamentose.

BRACTS: Leaflike, more or less sheathing, several times longer than 

the inflorescence.

SPIKES: Several, sessile or short-peduncled, at least the upper ones 

crowded. Terminal: Staminate, linear, 1-4, often with a few perigynia 

at the middle or below, 2-4 cm long, 2-4 mm wide, lateral ones smaller. 

Lateral: Pistillate or androgynous, 3-8, erect, upper ones aggregated, 

lower one sometimes separate, oblong-cylindric to short-oblong, 1.5-8 cm 

long, 14-20 mm wide, densely flowered; perigynia green, becoming yellowish or stramineous, the upper widely spreading, the middle and lower 

usually deflexed.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Lanceolate with an acute or cuspidate tip, yellowish brown or reddish brown with a 3-nerved green center, shorter to 

equal in length, but much narrower than the perigynia.

PERIGYNIA: Ellipsoid or lance-ovoid, much inflated, rounded at the 

base, somewhat obliquely narrowed at the apex, membranous, glabrous, 

shining, yellowish green or becoming light brownish-tinged, 7-10 mm 

long. Nerves: 8-12 on each side, coarse, riblike, obscure or absent on the 

margins. Beaks: Slender, conic, smooth, 2-3.5 mm long, bidentate; teeth 

stiff, erect.

ACHENES: Oblong-obovoid with blunt angles, trigonous, granular, 

brown, 1.9-2.5 mm long, 1.25 mm wide, continuous with the persistent, 

contorted or bent, bony style. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Rare or infrequent. Wet meadows, 

bogs, swamps, and edges of streams, lakes, and rivers. Foothills and 

lowlands. British Columbia to Quebec and south to Washington, northeastern Oregon, Idaho (northern Snake River Plain), Utah (Weber County), 

Wyoming, Colorado, and New Jersey. July-September.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 11.
222 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex rossii. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales (scale on left subtends 

a perigynium), (C) perigynia, (D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; 

right—ventral view.

A B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 223

Carex rossii Boott

Ross sedge

HABIT: Loosely to densely cespitose from very short to somewhat prolonged rhizomes. Culms: Slender, sharply triangular, scabrous, 0.5-4 dm 

tall, shorter to longer than the leaves, more or less aphyllopodic, usually 

with persistent reddish sheaths at the base.

LEAVES: Clustered toward the base. Blades: Thin, firm to rather lax, 

flat with slightly revolute margins, glabrous or slightly scabrous, 1-4 mm 

wide. Sheaths: Hyaline and slightly filamentose ventrally, concave or 

truncate at the mouth.

BRACTS: The lowest leaflike, mostly sheathless, surpassing the inflorescence; the upper leaflike but reduced.

SPIKES: 2-6, short and slender, green to greenish and purple-tinged. 

Terminal: Staminate, linear, sessile or short-peduncled, 3-10 mm long, 

1-2.5 mm wide. Lateral: Pistillate, few-flowered; the upper approximate, 

sessile or short-peduncled; the lower widely separate, arising from near 

the culm base on slender, elongate peduncles; perigynia ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate with an acute to cuspidate or awned tip, 

appressed, shorter than the perigynia, usually with a greenish center and 

midrib and reddish brown margins.

PERIGYNIA: Subglobose with the base short and stipelike or obovoid 

and narrowed to the base, abruptly contracted above, finely puberulent, 

usually greenish but slightly reddish brown above, 2.4-5 mm long, 1-

2.5 mm wide. Nerves: Marginal nerves prominent, otherwise none. Beaks:

Conic, ciliate-serrulate, deeply and obliquely cleft, 1.0-1.7 mm long.

ACHENES: Slightly obovoid to ovoid, trigonous with convex sides, yellowish green to brown when mature, 1.3-2.4 mm long, 1-1.7 mm wide.

Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Occasional to frequent in dry to 

moderately moist sites in areas that will support coniferous forests and 

in adjacent meadows and prairies. Near sea level to above timberline. Yukon south to California and eastward to Idaho, Utah, Arizona, 

Wyoming, Colorado, and irregularly east and north to Michigan. June-July.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 6.
224 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex rupestris. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes (achene on right partially enveloped in the perigynium and 

with a twisted rachilla at its base). B and C: Left and center—dorsal views; 

right—ventral view. D: Left and right—dorsal views; center—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 225

Carex rupestris All.

Curly sedge, rock sedge

HABIT: Culms arising singly or loosely tufted from slender, scaly, creeping 

rhizomes. Culms: Rather stout and stiffly erect, dark reddish purple at 

the base, 4-15 cm tall, shorter than to equaling the leaves, slightly phyllopodic, leaf sheaths of the previous year persistent.

LEAVES: 8-12, clustered near the base. Blades: More or less circinate, 

flat, channeled, somewhat thick, attenuated at the apex, 1-3 mm wide.

Sheaths: Hyaline ventrally, truncate at the mouth.

BRACTS: None.

SPIKES: Solitary, reddish brown, androgynous, oblong to linear, 1-2 

cm long, 3-4.5 mm wide; the pistillate portion closely to sparsely flowered; 

perigynia erect to ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Orbiculate-ovate with an acute to obtuse or 

broadly rounded tip, shorter to longer than the perigynia and largely 

concealing them, more or less scarious with hyaline margins, brown to 

deep chestnut.

PERIGYNIA: Oblong-obovoid, thin-walled, smooth, narrow or substipitate 

at the base, green below, brown to reddish brown above, 3-4 mm long, 1.75 

mm wide. Nerves: Several on both surfaces, slightly raised; marginal 

nerves present. Beaks: Slender, terete, entire, obscurely hyaline-tipped, 

0.2 mm long.

ACHENES: Oblong, trigonous, apiculate, smooth and shining, dark brown 

or black, completely filling the perigynium, 2.5 mm long, 1.5 mm wide; 

rachilla absent. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Infrequent but sometimes locally 

plentiful on dry, alpine summits, open slopes, and tundra. High elevations. Circumboreal. In North America from Alberta to Quebec, extending 

southward irregularly to eastern Idaho, Utah (above timberline in the 

Uinta Mountains), Wyoming, and Colorado. July-August.
226 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex saxatilis. (A) Pistillate scales, (B) perigynia, (C) achenes, (D) inflorescences. 

A through C: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 227

Carex saxatilis L.

Rock sedge, russet sedge

HABIT: Culms arise singly or in small clusters from well-developed, creeping rhizomes; turf-forming. Culms: Slender, erect, sharply triangular, 

reddish-tinged at the base, 2-8 dm tall, phyllopodic, leaves of previous 

year present.

LEAVES: 3-7, clustered on the lower one-third of the culm. Blades:

Ascending, flat with revolute margins, glabrous, often septate-nodulose, 

very rough toward the apex, 1.5-5 mm wide. Sheaths: Tight, truncate 

to concave at the mouth, basal sheaths cross-filamentose when mature.

BRACTS: Leaflike, barely sheathing, 3-15 cm long, shorter or longer than 

the inflorescence.

SPIKES: 3-5, often glossy and purplish black. Terminal: Staminate,

linear, peduncled, dark brown, 1-5 cm long, 2.5 mm thick, sometimes with 

an additional sessile staminate spike. Lateral: 1-3, pistillate, spreading 

or drooping, sessile to pedunculate, oblong to oblong-cylindric, densely 

flowered, 1-3.5 cm long, 5-12 mm thick, often widely separate; perigynia 

ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate or ovate-lanceolate with an obtuse to 

acuminate and often erose apex, shorter and narrower than the perigynia, 

dark reddish black with a lighter midrib and hyaline margins.

PERIGYNIA: Ovoid-lanceolate or elliptic-ovate, biconvex, rounded at the 

substipitate base, abruptly contracted at the apex, membranous, puncticulate, dull greenish yellow with the upper half reddish black-tinged at 

maturity, 3-5 mm long, 2 mm wide. Nerves: Few, obscure, or none dorsally, 

absent ventrally, evident on the margins. Beaks: Slender, dark-tinged at 

the tip, obliquely cleft and scarcely bidentate, 0.5 mm long.

ACHENES: Broadly ovoid or obovoid, lenticular or sometimes trigonous, 

sessile, puncticulate, yellowish, 1.7-2 mm long, 1.5-1.7 mm wide, tapering 

into and continuous with the persistent, bony style that becomes contorted 

at maturity. Stigmas: 2 or sometimes 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Infrequent to common in wet meadows, bogs, and on stream and pond margins from middle altitudes to 

timberline. Circumboreal. In North America south to Washington and 

east to Nevada, central Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Hudson Bay, 

and Labrador. June-August.

DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS: C. saxatilis is the only species 

in the Intermountain Region with a persistent, contorted, bony style and 

two stigmas.
228 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex scirpoidea var. pseudoscirpoidea. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, 

(C) perigynia, (D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 229

Carex scirpoidea Michx. var. pseudoscirpoidea (Rydb.) Cronq.

Canada single-spike sedge, downy sedge

HABIT: Culms arising singly or few together from stout, woody, branching, creeping rhizomes. Culms: Stiff, triangular, purplish red at the base, 

1-4(8) dm tall, exceeding the leaves, phyllopodic to aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 2-4, clustered near the base. Blades: Mostly flat, firm, 1-4 

mm wide. Sheaths: Tight, slightly filamentose, hyaline and puberulent 

ventrally, concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: None or inconspicuous to short-prolonged, narrow, darkauricled, and somewhat removed from the inflorescence.

SPIKES: Usually solitary, erect, plants dioecious, pistillate and staminate spikes similar in size, shape, and color. Terminal: Cylindric, 1.5-

4 cm long, 3-6 mm thick, densely flowered. Lateral: Sometimes 1-2 at 

the base of the main spike on pistillate plants, small, sessile; perigynia 

erect-appressed.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Obovate-oblong with an obtuse to broadly acute 

tip, deep brown to black with a pale midrib and hyaline margins, puberulent and fringed-ciliate along the upper margins, shorter to longer and 

wider than the perigynia.

PERIGYNIA: Ovoid or oblong-obovoid, tapering to the base, rounded tapering at the apex, short-hairy, especially the upper half, reddish purplish 

brown, lighter toward the base, 2-3.5 mm long, 1-1.7 mm wide. Nerves:

Few at the base, obscure. Beaks: Slender, terete, 0.25 mm long; the tip 

somewhat hyaline-erose or bidentulate.

ACHENES: Oblong-ovate or obovoid, sharply trigonous to slightly triquetrous, brownish yellow, substipitate, 1.5-2.1 mm long, 0.75-1 mm wide. 

Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Wet to dry meadows, streambanks, 

and open, rocky slopes. High elevations. In North America from Alaska 

to Labrador, south to California, Nevada, southern Utah, Arizona, 

Wyoming, and Colorado and east to Michigan and New York. JuneAugust.
230 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex scoparia. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 231

Carex scoparia Schkuhr

Pointed-broom sedge, swamp sedge

HABIT: Densely cespitose from short rhizomes. Culms: Sharply triangular, the angles rough below the inflorescence, 1.5-10 dm tall, exceeding 

the leaves, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 2-6, borne on the lower part of the culm but not clustered.

Blades: Flat or canaliculate, yellowish green, 1-3 mm wide. Sheaths:

Thin or green-ribbed ventrally, concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: The lowest sometimes setaceous-prolonged, shorter to longer 

than the spike, sheathless; the upper reduced and inconspicuous.

SPIKES: 3-12, gynaecandrous, sessile, oblong-ovoid, green, becoming 

stramineous or brown, individual spikes distinct, 8-14 mm long, 3-5 mm 

wide, aggregated into an oblong, linear-oblong or globose head 2-4 cm long; 

perigynia erect to ascending with appressed to erect beaks.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Lanceolate, ovate or oblong-ovate, tapering to 

a firm, often short awn-pointed tip, much narrower and shorter than the 

perigynia, light brown with a green center and narrow, white-hyaline 

margins.

PERIGYNIA: Lanceolate to narrowly ovate-lanceolate, flat, thin and 

scalelike, slightly tapering to the base and gradually tapering to the 

apex, widest just below the middle, broadly and thinly wing-margined 

(almost hyaline) to the base, serrulate to below the middle, pale green to 

stramineous, 4-7 mm long, 1.2-2 mm wide. Nerves: Several on both sides, 

usually faint ventrally. Beaks: Ill-defined, flat, serrulate, obliquely cleft, 

shallowly bidentate.

ACHENES: Ovate-oblong, lenticular, brown, short-stipitate, 1.3-1.8 mm 

long, 0.5-0.9 mm wide. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Occasional. In moist to swampy 

places at low elevations. British Columbia to Newfoundland, south to 

Oregon, California, Idaho, Utah (Kane County), Arizona, Colorado, and 

New Mexico and east to Arkansas and Florida. July-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See C. bebbii.
232 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex scopulorum. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 233

Carex scopulorum Holm

Cliff sedge, Holm Rocky Mountain sedge, 

mountain sedge, rock sedge

HABIT: Scattered or loosely clustered from dark reddish-tinged, scaly 

rhizomes; sod-forming. Culms: Stiffly erect, stout, 1-4(6) dm tall, exceeding the leaves, phyllopodic to aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 8-15, clustered at the base. Blades: Firm, flat with revolute 

margins, 2-7 mm wide. Sheaths: Thin, reddish-tinged ventrally, shallowly 

concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: Lowest foliaceous or setaceous, sheathless, black-auriculate, 

1-7 cm long, shorter than the inflorescence; upper reduced and scalelike.

SPIKES: 3-6, erect, short, oblong to cylindrical, bicolored with green or 

tan and purplish black, occasionally solid purplish black, crowded or the 

lowest one removed, 1-3 cm long. Terminal: Staminate or androgynous, 

occasionally gynaecandrous. Lateral: Wholly pistillate or sometimes 

androgynous, closely many-flowered, sessile or lowest ones short-pedunculate; 

perigynia squarrose-spreading.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Obovate, usually with an obtuse tip, narrower 

and shorter than or equaling the perigynia, scarious throughout, black or 

purplish black to dark reddish brown.

PERIGYNIA: Orbicular to broadly obovoid, strongly biconvex and turgid, 

rounded to a sessile or stipitate base, as well as at the apex, tending to be 

inflated distally, pale green to coppery tan or suffused with dark purple, 

1.8-3.5(4) mm long, 1.5-2.3 mm wide. Nerves: Absent except on the margins. Beaks: Often slightly bent, entire, reddish black, 0.1-0.4 mm long.

ACHENES: Suborbicular or broadly ovoid to obovoid, normally lenticular 

or a few trigonous, minutely apiculate, light brown, 1.2-1.8 mm long, 0.9-

1.5 mm wide. Stigmas: 2, sometimes 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Locally abundant. Wet meadows and 

open slopes, lakeshores, and streambanks at middle and upper elevations. Southern British Columbia to California and eastward to Idaho, 

Wyoming, and Colorado. Apparently missing from large parts of Nevada 

and Utah. July-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 3.
234 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex sheldonii. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B and C: Left and left-center—dorsal views; right-center and 

right—ventral views.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 235

Carex sheldonii Mack.

Sheldon sedge

HABIT: Culms arising singly or in small tufts from creeping rhizomes, 

sometimes forming dense swards. Culms: Erect, obtusely angled, glabrous, 

brown, stout at the base, 4-10 cm tall, slightly aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: About 4, borne on the lower one-half of the culm. Blades: Flat, 

firm but thin, light green, 3-6 mm wide. Sheaths: Yellowish brown, membranous, usually villous-hirsute ventrally, darker at the concave mouth; 

basal sheaths becoming cross-filamentose.

BRACTS: Lower leaflike, not sheathing, exceeding the inflorescence; upper reduced and not sheathing.

SPIKES: Several, green or yellowish green, becoming stramineous, remote. Terminal: 2-3, staminate, linear, 2-3.5 mm long, 3 mm wide; the 

upper longer and peduncled; basal sessile. Lateral: Pistillate, 2-3, erect, 

cylindrical, sessile, 2-6 cm long, 8-10 mm wide, closely flowered but not 

crowded, widely separated; perigynia ascending,

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate-lanceolate with the tip acuminate to 

cuspidate or awned, narrower and shorter than the perigynia, reddish 

brown with a strongly 3- to 5-nerved green or pale center and hyaline or 

stramineous margins.

PERIGYNIA: Ovate-lanceolate, flattened distally, rounded at the sessile 

base, tapered at the apex, subcoriaceous, short-pubescent, green becoming 

straw-colored or brownish, occasionally suffused with purplish brown, 

5-6(8) mm long, about 2 mm wide. Nerves: 12-20, conspicuous; marginal 

nerves obscure or lacking. Beaks: Strongly tapering, frequently darktinged, 2 mm long; teeth prominent, often unequal, outcurved.

ACHENES: Oblong-obovoid, obtusely trigonous, short-stipitate, yellowish 

brown, 1.8-2.5 mm long, 0.7-1.2 mm wide, continuous with the straight, 

persistent, bony style. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Infrequent to rare in wet meadows, 

marshes, roadside ditches, and streambanks. Foothills to moderate 

elevations. Oregon (northern Harney County), northeastern California, 

central and west-central Idaho, and Utah. June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See C. atherodes.
236 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex siccata. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 237

Carex siccata Dewey

Dry sedge, silvertop sedge

HABIT: Culms arising singly from brown, slender to stout, creeping 

rhizomes. Culms: Slender, mostly 1.5-6(9) dm tall, exceeding the leaves, 

from somewhat to distinctly aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: Several, borne on the lower one-fourth of the culm. Blades:

Flat, 1-3 mm wide. Sheaths: Ventrally hyaline, truncate at the mouth, 

overlapping.

BRACTS: Prolonged to inconspicuous, setaceous, shorter than the 

inflorescence.

SPIKES: 3-12, androgynous (sometimes appearing falsely gynaecandrous), sessile, greenish brown to golden brown, 5-10 mm long, 2.5-5 mm 

wide, readily distinguishable to indistinguishable (especially the upper 

ones), but aggregated into a cylindric or clavate-cylindric head 1.5-3.5 cm 

long and about 1 cm wide; the lowest sometimes removed from the main 

cluster; perigynia appressed.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Broadly ovate, shorter than to equaling the perigynia and concealing them, brown with a firmer, often pale or greenish 

midvein, tending to be hyaline-margined.

PERIGYNIA: Lance-ovate to elliptic, plano-convex, abruptly tapered toward the stipitate base, sharp-edged proximally, becoming thin-margined 

distally, serrulate over most of its length, sometimes rather granulartuberculate, greenish brown or greenish black with the green margins 

disappearing at maturity, 3-6 mm long, 1.5-2 mm wide. Nerves: Several, 

coarse dorsally; few, obscure ventrally. Beaks: Flattened and serrulate, 

over one-half as long as the body, narrowly hyaline at the obliquely and 

deeply cleft and obscurely to prominently bidentate tip.

ACHENES: Quadrate-orbicular, lenticular, brown at maturity, 1.7-2.2 

mm long, filling the perigynium. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Frequent, but usually rather local on 

dry to moderately wet, open or thinly wooded grassy slopes from the base 

of the mountains to near timberline. Alaska to Washington, Utah, 

Arizona, and Wyoming, and east to Maine and New Jersey. June-August.
238 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex simulata. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 239

Carex simulata Mack.

Analogue sedge, short-beaked sedge

HABIT: Culms arising singly or few together from well-developed, creeping, brown rhizomes. Culms: Sharply triangular, 1-9 dm tall, usually 

exceeding the leaves, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 2-5, clustered toward the base. Blades: Flat or canaliculate, 

1-4 mm wide. Sheaths: Membranous ventrally, truncate or concave at 

the mouth.

BRACTS: Small and inconspicuous, sometimes setaceous, shorter than 

the inflorescence.

SPIKES: 8-25 or more, androgynous or unisexual (and the plants 

subdioecious), short, sessile, medium to dark brown, aggregated into a 

distinguishable or indistinguishable oblong-ovoid to linear-oblong head 

1.5-3 cm long and up to 1.5 cm thick.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate-triangular, cuspidate, wider and longer 

than the perigynia and completely concealing them, green to black or 

brown with narrow, hyaline margins and a conspicuously lighter midvein.

PERIGYNIA: Broadly ovate, plano-convex or unequally biconvex, the base 

spongy, especially laterally; margins raised, narrowly winged and serrulate at the junction of the beak and the body, coriaceous, usually glossy, 

yellowish brown to chestnut brown at maturity with the margins greenish distally when immature, 1.7-2.7 mm long, 1.3-1.6 mm wide. Nerves: 

Lacking or few on each surface, hardly reaching the middle, not reaching 

the margins. Beaks: Abruptly narrowed, 0.2-0.6 mm long, margins of the 

dorsal suture slightly hyaline and overlapping.

ACHENES: Obovoid or rhombic-elliptic, lenticular, yellow brown, 1.1-

2.3 mm long, 0.7-1 mm wide. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Widespread, sometimes common in 

wet meadows and swamps from foothills to moderate elevations in 

the mountains. Washington to California and eastward to Idaho, Utah, 

Montana, Wyoming, and New Mexico. June-August.

DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS: Perigynia are shiny brown and 

very short beaked.
240 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex specifica. (A) Pistillate scales, (B) perigynia, (C) achenes, 

(D) inflorescences. A through C: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 241

Carex specifica Bailey

Specific sedge

HABIT: Loosely cespitose from short rhizomes. Culms: Erect, somewhat 

smooth, exceeding the leaves, 3-8.5 dm tall, aphyllopodic to phyllopodic.

LEAVES: Borne on the lower one-third of the culm. Blades: Flat or 

channeled, 2-5 mm wide. Sheaths: More or less firm and green-ribbed 

ventrally, or narrowly hyalined, concave to convex at the mouth, sometimes 

prolonged above the collar.

BRACTS: Short and inconspicuous; the lowest sometimes long-awned.

SPIKES: Several, gynaecandrous, sessile, golden brown to brown at 

maturity, individual spikes distinguishable, but aggregated into an oblong or roundish head 1.5-4 cm long; the lowest spike somewhat removed; 

perigynia appressed-ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Lanceolate-ovate with the tip acute to slightly 

acuminate, scarcely shorter and narrower to nearly as wide as the perigynia, reddish to golden brown or brown with usually a lighter midvein and 

white-hyaline margins.

PERIGYNIA: Narrowly to broadly ovate or lanceolate, plano-convex 

broadly to narrowly tapering at the base, gradually tapering at the apex, 

wing-margined, serrulate from the middle upward, green to gold, sometimes reddish brown toward the margins which usually remain green, 4.8-7 

mm long, 1.2-2.3 mm wide. Nerves: Numerous on both surfaces or obscure 

ventrally. Beaks: Ill-defined, reddish-tinged, narrowly winged except the 

last 0.3 mm; tip smooth and terete, slightly hyaline, obliquely cleft.

ACHENES: Broadly oblong, lenticular, substipitate, brown, 1.7-2.3 mm 

long, 1-1.5 mm wide. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Dry meadows and open forest at 

middle to high elevations. In the Sierra Nevada Mountains from Tulare 

County, California to western Nevada. June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See C. multicostata.
242 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex stipata. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, (D) achenes. 

B through D: Left and center—dorsal views; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 243

Carex stipata Muhl.

Awl-fruit sedge, prickly sedge, saw-beak sedge

HABIT: Densely clumped from short, stout rhizomes. Culms: Stout, 

4-6 mm thick, sharply concave-triangular with the angles narrow-winged 

and serrulate above, 3.5-10 dm tall, equaling the leaves, slightly aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: Blades: Flat, coarse, flaccid, yellowish green, 4-11 mm wide. 

Sheaths: Septate-nodulose dorsally; thin, fragile, and cross-rugulose 

ventrally; convex at the mouth.

BRACTS: Sheathless, short and inconspicuous or sometimes setaceous 

and surpassing the inflorescence.

SPIKES: Numerous, androgynous, small, sessile, yellowish brown to 

dark brown at maturity, lower distinguishable, upper indistinguishable, 

aggregated into a compound oblong-linear to ovoid head 3-10 cm long, 

1-3 cm thick; perigynia spreading; beaks prominent, giving the spikes a 

prickly appearance; perigynia and scales deciduous.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate-triangular with an acuminate or cuspidate 

tip, shorter than the perigynia, brownish to greenish along the midrib with 

hyaline or brownish margins.

PERIGYNIA: Lance-triangular to narrowly ovate, plano-convex or biconvex, conspicuously spongy-thickened at the base, sharp-edged to the base, 

serrulate-margined (not winged) distally, stipitate, greenish- stramineous 

becoming yellowish brown to dark brown at maturity, 3.6-6 mm long, 1.5-1.8 

mm wide. Nerves: Sometimes darker than the body, prominent on both 

surfaces. Beaks: Tapered with long, thin, ill-defined, serrulate margins, 

about the length of the body, obliquely cleft and slightly bidentate.

ACHENES: Broadly ovate to ovate-orbicular, lenticular, substipitate, 

golden brown at maturity, 1.3-2.3 mm long, 1.3-1.8 mm wide, jointed at 

the style. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Occasional in swamps, wet meadows, 

and along ditches at low and mid elevations. Alaska to Newfoundland, 

south to California, Idaho, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico, and 

North Carolina. In the Intermountain area known mainly along the northern border, missing from most of our range. May-August.
244 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex straminiformis. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 245

Carex straminiformis Bailey

Mount Shasta sedge, Shasta sedge

HABIT: Densely tufted from short, woody roots. Culms: Firm, stout, often 

incurved, 1-5 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 3-7, crowded on the lower one-fourth of the culm. Blades: Flat, 

thick, 2-3.5(4) mm wide. Sheaths: Hyaline, concave to convex at the mouth.

BRACTS: Sheathless, short and inconspicuous.

SPIKES: 3-10, gynaecandrous, sessile, greenish brown to chestnut, 

1.2 cm long or less, closely aggregated into an ovate or roundish head 1.3-

3.2 cm long and 12-20 mm thick; perigynia ascending-spreading; beaks 

conspicuous.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate-lanceolate with an acute tip, shorter and 

narrower than the perigynia, reddish chestnut to brownish black with a 

pale or green midrib and whitish margins.

PERIGYNIA: Ovate to broadly ovate, flattened, concavo-convex (usually 

quite thin), strongly winged and usually wrinkle-margined to the base, 

membranous, light green to stramineous, 4.1-5.8 mm long, 1.7-3.4 mm 

wide. Nerves: Numerous dorsally, absent or nearly so ventrally. Beaks:

Abruptly narrowed, flattened, serrulate more or less to the top, bidentate, 

about a third the length of body.

ACHENES: Broadly oval, lenticular, nearly sessile, brown, 1.3-2.4 mm 

long, 1-1.6 mm wide. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: On open slopes, often near persistent snowbanks at high altitudes, near or above timberline. Occurs irregularly from southern Washington to the White Mountains of 

California and Nevada. Disjunct in central Idaho and Utah (Uinta and 

Wasatch Mountains). June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See C. proposita.
246 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex subfusca. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, (D) achenes. 

B through D: Left (and C and D, center)—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 247

Carex subfusca W. Boott

Brown sedge, rusty sedge

SYNONYM: C. teneraeformis Mack.

HABIT: Densely tufted from short rhizomes. Culms: Erect, stiff, smooth, 

2-10.5 dm tall, exceeding the leaves, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 3-5 on the lower one-fourth of the culm. Blades: Somewhat 

stiff, flat, 2-4 mm wide. Sheaths: Sparingly septate-nodulose dorsally, 

thin and hyaline ventrally, truncate or concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: Small and inconspicuous, setaceous.

SPIKES: 4-12, gynaecandrous, sessile, greenish, becoming strawcolored or brown, distinguishable, but clustered into an oblong or ovoid 

head 1-3.5 cm long and 7-12 mm wide; perigynia spreading to appressedascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate with an obtuse to acuminate tip, shorter 

and narrower than to more or less covering the perigynia, greenishstramineous with a lighter center and margins.

PERIGYNIA: Narrowly to broadly ovate, plano-convex, rounded or 

round-tapering at the base, tapering or abruptly contracted at the apex, 

narrowly winged with serrulate margins, thick, subcoriaceous, green to 

straw-colored, 1.4-4.3 mm long, 0.9-1.9 mm wide. Nerves: Several, fine or 

coarse dorsally; lacking or several ventrally. Beaks: Somewhat flattened, 

serrulate, half as long as the body, shallowly bidentate.

ACHENES: Short-oval, lenticular, substipitate, brown, 1-1.6 mm long, 

0.7-1.2 mm wide. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Locally common in moist or dry 

meadows and along forest borders. At moderate elevations in the 

mountains. British Columbia to southern California, eastward to Arizona 

and Utah. May-July.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 1.
248 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex subnigricans. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 249

Carex subnigricans Stacey

Dark alpine sedge

HABIT: Loosely to densely cespitose from long, creeping rhizomes; sodforming. Culms: Stiff, 5-20 cm tall, exceeding the leaves, old sheaths 

persistent.

LEAVES: Clustered toward the base. Blades: Involute-filiform, slender, 

stiff and wiry, 10 cm long, 0.25-1.25 mm wide. Sheaths: Dorsally striate, 

glabrous or with slightly scaberulous margins, membranous to hyaline 

ventrally, truncate to shallowly concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: None.

SPIKES: Solitary, androgynous, oblong-lanceolate to narrowly elliptic or 

conic, light to dark brown or chestnut, 8-20 mm long, 3-6 mm thick, when 

immature the terminal staminate portion not easily distinguished from 

the lower pistillate portion; perigynia appressed-ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Oblong-elliptic, acute to obtuse at the tip, about 

equaling the perigynia, thin and fragile, reddish brown to stramineous 

with the margins and tip tending to be paler and somewhat hyaline, 

1-nerved or nearly nerveless.

PERIGYNIA: Rather numerous, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, slightly 

inflated but strongly distended by the achene, substipitate, thin-walled, 

glabrous, brown, pale or greenish at the base, 2.5-4.1 mm long, 0.9-2 mm 

wide. Nerves: Lacking or nearly so. Beaks: Short and tapering, obliquely 

cleft, obscurely hyaline at the tip.

ACHENES: Ovoid to obovoid, trigonous, 1.25 mm long, 0.75 mm wide; 

partially to nearly filling the perigynium; rachilla well-developed.

Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: On moist, rocky slopes and in 

meadows at high elevations in the mountains. From Oregon through 

California, central Idaho, Utah (Tushar Mountains, Uinta Mountains, 

and Aquarius Plateau), and Wyoming. June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 4.
250 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex utriculata. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, (D) achenes. 

B through D: Left and center—dorsal views; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 251

Carex utriculata Boott

Beaked sedge, bladder sedge

OTHER NAMES: Formerly called C. rostrata Stokes.

HABIT: Culms arising singly or few together from stout, deep-seated 

rhizomes, sometimes forming a dense sod. Culms: Stout, erect, bluntly 

triangular below the spikes, smooth, light brown or red-tinged at the thick 

and spongy base, 3-12 dm tall, exceeded by the upper leaves, slightly 

aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 4-10, not clustered. Blades: Stiff, flat, thick, glabrous, septatenodulose, 2-12 mm wide. Sheaths: Concave or truncate at the mouth; 

basal sheaths sometimes cross-filamentose.

BRACTS: Leaflike, strongly sheathing, exceeding the inflorescence.

SPIKES: Several, yellowish green becoming stramineous or reddish 

purple, remote, forming an elongate inflorescence. Staminate: 2-4; 

terminal narrowly linear, 1-7 cm long, 2-4 mm thick, peduncled; lateral 

smaller. Pistillate or androgynous: 2-5, lateral, erect, cylindric and 

oblong, 2-10 cm long, 1-1.5 cm thick, short-peduncled to sessile, widely 

separate; perigynia ascending-spreading to squarrose-spreading at 

maturity.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate or lanceolate with an acute to longacuminate or short-awned tip, narrower than and either longer or shorter 

than the perigynia, light brown or reddish brown with a 3-nerved center 

and hyaline margins.

PERIGYNIA: Broadly ellipsoid to ovoid or subglobose, strongly inflated, 

abruptly contracted at the apex, membranous but firm, glabrous, shining, yellowish green, straw-colored or reddish-tinged at maturity, 3.5-

8 mm long, 1.3-3.5 mm wide. Nerves: 8-16, prominent on both surfaces; 

evident marginal nerves lacking. Beaks: Conic or cylindric, smooth, bidentate, 1-2 mm long; teeth slender, stiff, erect, 0.1-0.8 mm long.

ACHENES: Obovoid with blunt angles, trigonous, substipitate, yellowish 

brown, 1.1-2 mm long, 0.9-1.3 mm wide; the style persistent, bony, usually 

becoming flexuous at maturity. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: One of the most common species in 

the Intermountain area. Wet meadows, swamps, marshes, and wet soil or 

shallow water at the margins of ponds, lakes, and streams. Lowlands to 

moderate elevations. Circumboreal. In North America extending south 

to California, Nevada, southern Utah, New Mexico, Nebraska, Indiana, 

and Delaware. June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 11.
252 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex vallicola. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 253

Carex vallicola Dewey

Valley sedge

HABIT: Clustered on short stout, pale or brown, rhizomes. Culms:

Slender, roughened on the angles, 1.5-6 dm tall, longer than the leaves, 

slightly aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 3, clustered at the base. Blades: Flat or canaliculate, slender, 

0.5-2 mm wide. Sheaths: Light, thin, and hyaline ventrally, truncate to 

shallowly concave at the mouth.

BRACTS: Sheathless, short or sometimes filiform-elongate to 3 cm long.

SPIKES: Several, androgynous, small, sessile, green becoming stramineous, few-flowered, loosely aggregated into an irregular, narrowly 

oblong-cylindric head 1-3 cm long, 4-8 mm wide; perigynia spreading or 

spreading-ascending, producing a ragged appearance.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Broadly triangular with an acute tip, shorter 

than the perigynia, broadly white-hyaline on the margins with a brownish 

or pale-nerved center.

PERIGYNIA: Oblong-elliptic, strongly plano-convex, broadly rounded 

on the convex dorsal side, glossy at maturity, greenish or greenish-stramineous and coppery-tinged, 2.5-4 mm long, 1.5-2.5 mm wide. Nerves: 

Displaced from margins somewhat onto the ventral side (ventro-marginal); 

otherwise appearing nerveless or with obscure basal nerves. Beaks:

Abruptly narrowed, minutely serrulate, obliquely cleft, slightly bidentate, 

reddish brown at the tip, 0.6-1 mm long.

ACHENES: Orbicular, lenticular, stramineous or pale, 1.6-2.5 mm 

long, about 1.4-2.1 mm wide, filling the perigynium, jointed to the style.

Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Common on wet or moderately dry 

slopes from foothills to moderate elevations in the mountains, often 

with sagebrush or under aspen. Eastern Oregon to California and east 

to Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, western South Dakota, New Mexico, and 

Mexico. April-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See C. disperma.
254 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex vesicaria. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia (center 

perigynium is subtended by a pistillate scale), (D) achenes. B: Left—dorsal 

view; center and right—ventral views. C and D: Left and center—dorsal views; 

right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 255

Carex vesicaria L.

Blister sedge, inflated sedge

HABIT: Loosely cespitose from short, stout rhizomes. Culms: Sharply 

triangular, slightly reddish-tinged at the somewhat spongy base, 3-10 dm 

tall, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 4-10, not clustered. Blades: Flat, glabrous, tending to be 

septate-nodulose, 1-7 mm wide. Sheaths: Hyaline ventrally, truncate or 

concave at the mouth; basal sheath becoming cross-filamentose.

BRACTS: Well-developed, not sheathing, elongate, exceeding the 

inflorescence.

SPIKES: Several, erect, sessile or short-pedunculate, yellow brown to 

purplish brown, remote. Terminal: Staminate (sometimes with a few 

perigynia), 2-4, narrowly linear, 2-7 cm long, 2.5-4 mm thick, the upper 

terminal and peduncled, the lateral sessile. Lateral: Pistillate, 1-3, 

oblong-cylindric to narrowly cylindric, 2-7.5 cm long, 5-15 mm wide, loosely 

30- to 100-flowered; perigynia appressed or ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate to lanceolate with the tip acute to acuminate or slightly awned, narrower and shorter than or equaling the perigynia, 

reddish brown to yellowish brown with lighter center and hyaline margins.

PERIGYNIA: Lanceolate or ovoid-lanceolate, turgid-inflated below, gradually tapering to the apex, glabrous and shining, puncticulate, yellowish 

green or stramineous to castaneous or reddish brown, 4-11 mm long, 1.7-3 

mm wide. Nerves: Strongly 10- to 20-ribbed on each surface, prominent 

marginal nerves lacking. Beaks: Slender, conic, smooth, bidentate, 1.8-2.5 

mm long; teeth 0.3-1.5 mm long, slender, stiff, erect to outcurved.

ACHENES: Obovoid with blunt angles, trigonous, yellow to brown, 1.7-

3 mm long, 1.1-1.8 mm wide, continuous with the long, persistent, bony 

style that becomes bent or flexuous at maturity. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Frequent to common in wet soil or 

shallow water of bogs or swamps and along margins of ponds or streams 

from lowlands to moderate elevations. Circumboreal, extending south 

in North America to California, Arizona, New Mexico, Missouri, Indiana, 

and Delaware. June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 11.
256 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex vulpinoidea. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left and center—dorsal views; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 257

Carex vulpinoidea Michx.

Fox sedge

HABIT: Stems clustered, arising from stout rhizomes. Culms: Stiff, 

sharply triangular, roughened on the angles above, 2-10 dm tall, shorter 

than the leaves, slightly aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: Scattered along the lower one-half of the culm. Blades: Flat, 

2-5 mm wide. Sheaths: Ventral side membranous, sparsely red-dotted 

or plain and usually cross-rugose on older sheaths, truncate to slightly 

convex at the mouth.

BRACTS: Lowest sheathless, setaceous-prolonged, up to 5 cm long, shorter 

than or occasionally exceeding the inflorescence; upper reduced.

SPIKES: Numerous, androgynous, small, sessile, green becoming brown 

or ashy brown, few-flowered, densely aggregated into a compound, linear 

cylindric head 2-15 cm long and up to 1-2 cm thick; perigynia spreading 

at maturity.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate with the 3-nerved center terminating in 

a long, rough or glabrous awn, equaling or shorter and narrower than 

the perigynia, brownish or stramineous with hyaline-scarious margins.

PERIGYNIA: Broadly ovate to ovate-lanceolate, plano-convex or flattened, 

sharp-edged, spongy-margined to the rounded base, serrulate distally along 

the margins, yellowish green to brown or stramineous, greenish distally 

and toward the thin-edged or narrowly winged upper margins, 1.7-3 mm 

long, 1-1.2 mm wide. Nerves: Obscurely 3 or few and short mid-dorsally, 

absent ventrally. Beaks: Tapered gradually or abruptly, flattened, serrulate, bidentate, 0.7-1.8 mm long.

ACHENES: Orbicular-ovate, lenticular, tapering at the base, 1.2-1.6 mm 

long, 0.8-1 mm wide, jointed to the style. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: In marshes, standing water, ditches, 

and other wet places in the foothills and lowlands. British Columbia 

to Newfoundland, south to northern California, Arizona, Colorado, and 

Florida. In Idaho along the northern margin of the Snake River Plain. 

May-August.
258 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex whitneyi. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 259

Carex whitneyi Olney

Whitney sedge

SYNONYM: C. jepsonii Howell.

HABIT: Densely cespitose from short, stout rhizomes. Culms: 2-10 dm 

tall, exceeding the leaves, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: Blades: Flat with somewhat revolute margins, pubescent 

above and below with long soft hairs, 2-3 mm wide. Sheaths: Hyaline and 

brownish ventrally, deeply concave or V-shaped at the mouth.

BRACTS: Lowest leaflike, slightly sheathing, equaling or exceeding the 

inflorescence; the upper reduced.

SPIKES: 3-4, sessile to short-pedunculate, greenish becoming stamineous at maturity. Terminal: Staminate, linear, 0.5-2 cm long. Lateral:

Pistillate, oblong or linear, 1-2.5 cm long, 5-7 mm wide, approximate or 

the lowest separate; perigynia appressed-ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate with an acute to short-acuminate tip, 

shorter to longer than the perigynia, greenish and 3-nerved with hyaline 

margins.

PERIGYNIA: Ovoid, abruptly contracted on both ends, prominently 

angled, glabrous, green, 3.2-5.5 mm long, 1.5-2.5 mm wide. Nerves:

Evident on both faces, coarse and somewhat raised, reaching the beak. 

Beaks: Abruptly tapering, bidentate, narrowly white-margined, firm at 

the bidentate tip, 0.2-1 mm long.

ACHENES: Somewhat obovoid, slightly triquetrous, brown, 2.8-3.9 mm 

long, 1.2-2.4 mm wide. Stigmas: 3.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: On somewhat dry, sandy or gravelly 

flats in meadows or open forest at middle to high elevations. Occurs in 

southern Oregon, California, and western Nevada. June-July.
260 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Carex xerantica. (A) Inflorescences, (B) pistillate scales, (C) perigynia, 

(D) achenes. B through D: Left—dorsal view; right—ventral view.

A

B

C

D
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 261

Carex xerantica Bailey

Dryland sedge

HABIT: Tufted without creeping rhizomes. Culms: Stiff, erect, 3-7 dm 

tall, exceeding the leaves, aphyllopodic.

LEAVES: 2-3, somewhat crowded toward the base. Blades: Stiff, firm, 

1.5-3 mm wide. Sheaths: Membranous-hyaline ventrally, truncate to 

concave or occasionally V-shaped at the mouth and occasionally prolonged 

above the collar.

BRACTS: Sheathless, inconspicuous or the lowest setaceous-prolonged, 

shorter than the inflorescence.

SPIKES: 3-6, green to medium brown, gynaecandrous, sessile, approximate but distinct, usually forming a stiff, elongate head 2-5 cm long; 

the first two internodes each 3-18 mm long; perigynia closely appressed 

or ascending.

PISTILLATE SCALES: Ovate, varying from shorter and narrower than 

the perigynia to more often nearly concealing them, thin, stiff with an 

acuminate tip, light reddish brown with a green or pale-nerved center 

and white-hyaline margins.

PERIGYNIA: Ovate, flat to slightly or strongly plano-convex or concavoconvex, abruptly tapering to the base, gradually tapering at the apex, 

wing-margined to the base and serrulate to below the middle, 3.7-7 mm 

long, 1.6-2.8 mm wide, greenish, stramineous, or pale brown with a reddish brown tip. Nerves: Usually 10 or more on each side or nearly absent 

ventrally. Beaks: Flattened, strongly margined and serrulate to the tip, 

obliquely cleft and minutely bidentate, 2.2-3.6 mm long; dorsal suture 

often extending halfway or more down the length of the beak, margins of 

the flap slightly hyaline.

ACHENES: Quadrate-orbicular, lenticular or slightly plano-convex, 1.7-

2.6 mm long, 1.1-1.75 mm wide. Stigmas: 2.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Infrequently collected in grasslands 

and prairies and on open slopes at higher elevations. From Alberta 

east to Manitoba and south to the high plateaus of Utah, Arizona, and 

Colorado. June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See appendix, table 10.
262 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Bract—A modified leaf subtending 

a spike or inflorescence.

Canaliculate—Longitudinally channeled or grooved.

Capitate—Headlike; collected into 

a head or dense cluster.

Cartilaginous—Tough and firm, but 

somewhat flexible like cartilage.

Castaneous—Chestnut colored; 

dark brown.

Cauline—Of or on the stem.

Cespitose—Growing in low, dense 

tufts; clumped or clustered.

Chartaceous—Papery in texture.

Ciliate—Marginally fringed with 

hairs.

Circinate—Coiled from the tip

 downward.

Clavate—Shaped like a club.

Collar—The area on the abaxial 

surface of the grass leaf at the 

junction of the blade and sheath.

Compound—Having two or more 

similar parts in one organ.

Concave—With the surface bowed 

inward (see Convex).

Concavo-convex—With one surface 

bowed inward and the other 

outward.

Contiguous—Near, next, adjacent 

to.

Convex—With the surface bowed 

outward (see Concave).

Coriaceous—Thick and leathery in 

texture.

Corrugated—Wrinkled crosswise or 

horizontally.

Cross-fibrillose—With soft tissues 

of a structure (for example, the 

leaf sheath) broken down, leaving 

a central longitudinal fiber and 

short, curving horizontal fibers 

connecting it with the edges.

Glossary _______________

Abaxial—The side away from the 

axis (dorsal).

Achene—A small, dry, hard, onecelled, one-seeded, indehiscent 

fruit with the seed attached to 

the pericarp at one point.

Acicular—Needle-shaped.

Acuminate—Gradually tapered to 

a narrow tip.

Acute—Sharp-pointed, the tip 

forming an angle of less than 90 

degrees.

Adaxial—The side toward the axis 

(ventral).

Aggregated—Crowded into a dense 

cluster, but not united.

Androgynous—Having staminate 

flowers above the pistillate flowers in the same spike.

Aphyllopodic—With the lowermost 

leaves greatly reduced, bladeless 

or nearly so; blades, when present, 

nongreen, short, firm, pointed.

Apiculate—Ending abruptly in a 

small point.

Approximate—Close together (opposite of remote).

Aristate—With a stiff bristle.

Attenuate—Slenderly tapering or 

prolonged; more gradual than 

acuminate.

Auricle—A small projecting lobe or 

appendage.

Awn—A bristle-shaped appendage.

Beak—A firm, prolonged, slender 

tip (the distal portion of the perigynium in Carex).

Biconvex—Convex on both sides.

Bidentate—Having two teeth.

Bidentulate—Minutely bidentate.

Blade—The broad, usually flat part 

of a leaf.
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 263

Crowded—Close together.

Culm—Stem of a grass, sedge, or 

rush.

Cuspidate—Tipped with a cusp, a 

sharp and firm point.

Cylindric—Having the form of a 

cylinder.

Deciduous—Not persistent; falling off.

Decumbent—With a prostrate or 

curved base and an erect or ascending tip.

Deflexed—Bent or turned abruptly 

downward.

Dioecious—Bearing staminate and 

pistillate flowers on different 

plants.

Distal—Toward or at the tip or 

far end.

Divaricate—Widely divergent or 

spreading from the axis.

Dorsal—Pertaining to the back, or 

outer surface; the side away from 

the axis.

Dorsal suture—A seam visible near 

the tip of the dorsal (abaxial) side 

of the perigynium in some sedge 

species. It represents the line 

along which the lateral margins 

of the bract forming the perigynium are fused and is sometimes 

like a seam with a flap.

Elliptic—With the form of a flattened circle, widest in the center 

and with the ends equal.

Emarginate—With a broad, shallow 

notch at the apex.

Entire—With a smooth margin (for 

example, a perigynium beak 

without a notch or dentation).

Erose—With an irregular margin, as 

if gnawed or shallowly shredded 

(see Lacerate).

Excurrent—Running through and 

beyond, as a midrib projecting 

beyond a leaf apex.

Exserted—Projecting beyond the 

containing structure.

Falcate—sickle-shaped; curved like 

a hawk’s beak.

Fasciculate—In close bundles or 

clusters.

Fibrillose—Bearing delicate fibers 

or hairs.

Filamentous—Threadlike, very 

slender.

Flaccid—Weak and lax.

Flexuous—Wavy, flexible, curved in 

a zigzag fashion.

Foliaceous—Leaflike, usually green.

Fuscous—Gray brown.

Fusiform—Spindle-shaped, thickest 

near the middle and tapering at 

both ends.

Glabrous—Smooth, without hairs 

or glands.

Glaucous—With a waxy bluish or 

whitish covering.

Globose—Spherical.

Gynaecandrous—Having pistillate 

flowers above staminate flowers 

in the same spike.

Head—A rounded or flat-topped 

cluster of sessile or subsessile 

flowers or fruits.

Hirsute—With rather coarse or 

stiff hairs.

Hirtellous—Minutely hirsute.

Hispid—Ruff with firm, stiff hairs.

Hispidulous—Minutely hispid; 

bristly-hairy.

Hyaline—Thin and translucent.

Indistinguishable—Not distinctive 

or separable.

Indurated—Hardened.

Glossary
264 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Inflorescence—A flower cluster.

Inframarginal—Beneath, within, or 

less than the margins.

Internodes—The portion of a stem 

or other structure between two 

other nodes.

Involute—With the edges rolled 

inward toward the upper (ventral) side.

Lacerate—With the margins irregular, appearing to have been torn. 

Margins more deeply shredded 

than described for erose.

Lanceolate—Narrow and tapering 

to the apex, broadest toward the 

base, four to six times as long 

as broad.

Lenticular—In the shape of a lens, 

biconvex.

Ligule—The membranous appendage arising from the adaxial 

surface of the grass leaf at the 

junction of the sheath and blade.

Membranaceous—Thin, soft, and 

pliable like a membrane.

Membranous—See membranaceous.

Moniliform—Resembling a string 

of beads.

Monoecious—With staminate and 

pistillate flowers borne on the 

same plant.

Mucronate—Tipped with a short, 

sharp, slender point.

Nerve—A simple or unbranched 

vein or slender rib of a leaf, bract, 

perigynium, or other organ.

Node—The point on the stem where 

leaves and branches originate; 

the joint of a stem; the point on an 

axis that bears other structures.

Ob—Latin prefix, meaning in a 

reverse direction.

Oblanceolate—Lanceolate but with 

the narrowest part toward the 

base.

Obliquely cleft—An opening with the 

sides unequal or slanting.

Obovate—Ovate, but attached at the 

narrow end (two dimensional).

Obovoid—A three-dimensional figure, obovate in outline.

Obsolete—Rudimentary, scarcely 

detectable.

Obtuse—Blunt to almost rounded 

at the end.

Orbicular—Circular or nearly so 

in outline.

Orifice—An opening.

Ovary—The expanded lower portion of the pistil that contains 

the ovule(s).

Ovate—Flat and having the outline 

of an egg; broadest toward the 

base, one and one-half times as 

long as broad (two dimensional).

Ovoid—A three-dimensional figure, 

ovate in outline.

Ovule—The structure that becomes 

a seed after fertilization.

Papillose—Bearing minute rounded 

or fingerlike projections.

Pedicel—The stalk of a single flower 

in an inflorescence.

Peduncle—The stalk of an inflorescence or solitary flower.

Perigynium (plural = perigynia)—

An inflated saclike structure 

enclosing the ovary (achene) in 

the genus Carex.

Phyllopodic—With the lowermost 

leaf blades well developed.

Pistil—The female (seed bearing) 

structure of a flower, consisting 

usually of an ovary and one or 

more styles and stigmas.
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 265

Pistillate flower—A flower with one 

or more pistils, but no stamens.

Plane—With a flat surface.

Plano-convex—Flat on one surface, 

rounded on the other. In a planoconvex perigynium, the dorsal 

side is convex or rounded and 

the ventral side is flat.

Plicate—Plaited; folded like a fan.

Proximal—Toward the base.

Puberulent—Minutely hairy.

Pubescent—Covered with hairs, 

hairy.

Punctate—Dotted with depressions 

or translucent glands.

Puncticulate—Minutely punctate, 

diminutive of punctate.

Rachilla—The axis of the spikelet 

in grasses and some sedges. The 

presence of a rachilla alongside 

the achene within the perigynium 

of some sedges demonstrates that 

each pistillate flower represents 

an inflorescence branch reduced 

to a single flower. It is commonly 

present in single-spiked sedges.

Remote—Removed to, or situated 

at a distance from (opposite of 

approximate).

Retrorse—Bent or turned abruptly 

backward.

Revolute—Rolled back from the 

margins or apex toward the 

dorsal side.

Rhizome—A usually prostrate stem, 

rooting at the nodes.

Rhombic—Diamond shaped.

Rib—A primary or prominent vein 

of a leaf, bract, or other structure.

Rugose—Wrinkled.

Rugulose—Diminutive of rugose.

Scabrous—Rough to the touch due 

to the presence of short, stiff 

hairs or stout projections.

Scale—A small, thin, or flat structure.

Scarious—Thin, dry, and chaffy in 

texture, not green.

Separate—Distinct from each other.

Septate—Divided by transverse 

partitions.

Septate-nodulose—Divided by small 

transverse knobs or nodules.

Serrate—With short, sharp teeth 

pointing forward.

Serrulate—Minutely serrate.

Sessile—Without a stalk, attached 

directly at the base.

Setaceous—Bristle-shaped.

Sheath—The basal portion of the 

rush, sedge, or grass leaf that 

forms a tubular cover surrounding the stem.

Spiciform—Spikelike.

Spike—An unbranched, elongate 

inflorescence with sessile or 

subsessile flowers maturing from 

the base upwards.

Squarrose—Spreading rigidly at 

right angles or recurved.

Staminate flower—A flower with 

one or more stamens, but no 

pistils.

Stigma—The apical part of the pistil 

on which the pollen is deposited 

and where it germinates.

Stipe—A stalklike structure.

Stipitate—Having a stipe or stalk.

Stramineous—Straw-colored.

Striate—Marked with fine longitudinal lines or streaks; finely 

nerved.

Strigose—With short, stiff, appressed hairs.

Striolate—Minutely striate; diminutive of striate.
266 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Style—The slender stalk that connects the stigma to the ovary.

Sub- —Latin prefix, meaning under, 

almost, or not quite.

Subulate—Awl-shaped; flat, narrow, and tapering gradually to 

a sharp apex.

Suffused—Tinged, diffused, overspread.

Sulcate—Longitudinally grooved or 

furrowed.

Sward—Turf.

Terete—Cylindrical; circular in cross 

section.

Tomentum—A covering of tangled 

or matted, woolly hairs.

Torose—Cylindrical with alternate 

swellings and contractions.

Torulose—Diminutive of torose. 

In sedges, generally used with 

reference to a perigynium with a 

swollen base that is more or less 

adnate to the achene.

Trigonous—With three angles.

Triquetrous—With three sharp or 

projecting angles.

Truncate—Cut squarely across at 

the apex or base.

Tuberculate—Bearing small swellings or projections (tubercles).

Tufted—Growing in tufts or clumps; 

cespitose.

Tussock—A clump or tuft of grasslike plants.

Ventral—Pertaining to the inner 

face of an organ, the side toward 

or facing the axis, adaxial.

Ventromarginal—Toward the ventral side of the margin.

Villose—Pubescent with long, soft, 

often bent or curved, but not 

matted hairs.

Wing—A thin, flat appendage or the 

border of an organ.
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 267

Index of Common Names ___________________________

Abrupt-beaked sedge (Carex abrupta)................................................... 35

Alpine nerved sedge (C. neurophora)................................................... 179

Ample-leaved sedge (C. amplifolia) ....................................................... 43

Analogue sedge (C. simulata)............................................................... 239

Arapaho sedge (C. arapahoensis)........................................................... 49

Awl-fruit sedge (C. stipata) .................................................................. 243

Awned sedge (C. atherodes).................................................................... 53

Back sedge (C. backii)............................................................................. 61

Beaked sedge (C. utriculata) ................................................................ 251

Bear sedge (C. arcta)............................................................................... 51

Beautiful sedge (C. bella)........................................................................ 65

Bebb sedge (C. bebbii)............................................................................. 63

Big-leaf sedge (C. amplifolia)................................................................. 43

Black alpine sedge (C. nigricans)......................................................... 181

Black-and-white scaled sedge (C. albonigra) ........................................ 39

Black sedge (C. heteroneura, C. nova).......................................... 131, 185

Blackcreeper sedge (C. praegracilis).................................................... 209

Blackened sedge (C. heteroneura) ........................................................ 131

Blackroot sedge (C. elynoides).............................................................. 109

Bladder sedge (C. utriculata) ............................................................... 251

Blister sedge (C. vesicaria) ................................................................... 255

Blunt sedge (C. obtusata) ..................................................................... 187

Bog sedge (C. dioica)............................................................................... 95

Bountiful sedge (C. alma)....................................................................... 41

Bottlebrush sedge (C. hystricina)......................................................... 135

Brevior sedge (C. brevior) ....................................................................... 69

Brewer sedge (C. breweri var. paddoensis)............................................ 71

Bristlestalked sedge (C. leptalea)......................................................... 151

Bronze sedge (C. aenea).......................................................................... 37

Brown sedge (C. subfusca).................................................................... 247

Brownish sedge (C. brunnescens)........................................................... 73

Buxbaum sedge (C. buxbaumii) ............................................................. 75

Canada single-spike sedge (C. scirpoidea var. pseudoscirpoidea)...... 229

Capitate sedge (C. capitata) ................................................................... 81

Chamisso sedge (C. pachystachya)....................................................... 193

Cliff sedge (C. scopulorum)................................................................... 233

Cloud sedge (C. haydeniana)................................................................ 127

Clustered field sedge (C. praegracilis)................................................. 209

Clustered sedge (C. arcta) ...................................................................... 51

Crawe sedge (C. crawei).......................................................................... 85

Crawford sedge (C. crawfordii) .............................................................. 87

Crevice sedge (C. fissuricola)................................................................ 279

Curly sedge (C. rupestris)..................................................................... 225

Cusick sedge (C. cusickii) ....................................................................... 89

Dark alpine sedge (C. subnigricans).................................................... 249

Dark-scaled sedge (C. atrosquama) ....................................................... 57

Index of Scientifid and Common Names
268 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Dark sedge (C. heteroneura)................................................................. 131

Dewey sedge (C. deweyana).................................................................... 91

Douglas sedge (C. douglasii) .................................................................. 99

Downy sedge (C. scirpoidea var. pseudoscirpoidea)............................ 229

Dry sedge (C. siccata)............................................................................ 237

Dryland sedge (C. xerantica) ................................................................ 261

Dunhead sedge (C. phaeocephala) ....................................................... 205

Early sedge (C. praeceptorum) ............................................................. 207

Ebony sedge (C. ebenea)........................................................................ 101

Eggleston sedge (C. egglestonii) ........................................................... 105

Elk sedge (C. geyeri).............................................................................. 125

Few-flowered sedge (C. fuliginosa var. misandra).............................. 121

Field clustered sedge (C. praegracilis)................................................. 209

Firethread sedge (C. prionophylla)...................................................... 213

Flaccid sedge (C. leptalea) .................................................................... 151

Foetid sedge (C. foetida var. vernacula) .............................................. 117

Fox sedge (C. vulpinoidea).................................................................... 257

Fragile-sheathed sedge (C. fracta) ....................................................... 119

Fremont sedge (C. aenea) ....................................................................... 37

Geyer sedge (C. geyeri).......................................................................... 125

Globe sedge (C. perglobosa).................................................................. 201

Golden-fruited sedge (C. aurea) ............................................................. 59

Golden sedge (C. aurea).......................................................................... 59

Gray sedge (C. canescens)....................................................................... 77

Green sedge (C. oederi)......................................................................... 191

Ground-loving sedge (C. geophila) ....................................................... 123

Hair sedge (C. capillaris)........................................................................ 79

Hare sedge (C. phaeocephala) .............................................................. 205

Hayden sedge (C. haydeniana)............................................................. 127

Heller sedge (C. helleri) ........................................................................ 129

Holm Rocky Mountain sedge (C. scopulorum) .................................... 233

Hood sedge (C. hoodii) .......................................................................... 133

Inflated sedge (C. vesicaria) ................................................................. 255

Inland sedge (C. interior)...................................................................... 139

Jones sedge (C. jonesii)......................................................................... 141

Knot-sheath sedge (C. retrorsa) ........................................................... 221

Kobresia-like sedge (C. elynoides)........................................................ 109

Lens sedge (C. lenticularis) .................................................................. 147

Lenticular-achened sedge (C. lenticularis).......................................... 147

Lesser panicled sedge (C. diandra)........................................................ 93

Liddon sedge (C. petasata).................................................................... 203

Little sedge (C. paupercula) ................................................................. 197

Livid sedge (C. livida)........................................................................... 155
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 269

Many-ribbed sedge (C. multicostata) ................................................... 169

Many-stemmed sedge (C. multicaulis) ................................................ 167

Mariposa sedge (C. mariposana).......................................................... 159

Meadow sedge (C. praticola)................................................................. 211

Merten sedge (C. mertensii).................................................................. 161

Mount Baldy sedge (C. perglobosa)...................................................... 201

Mount Shasta sedge (C. straminiformis)............................................. 245

Mountain hare sedge (C. phaeocephala).............................................. 205

Mountain sedge (C. scopulorum).......................................................... 233

Mud sedge (C. limosa)........................................................................... 153

Narrow fruit sedge (C. angustata) ......................................................... 45

Narrowleaf sedge (C. eleocharis).......................................................... 107 

Nebraska sedge (C. nebrascensis) ........................................................ 173

Needleleaf sedge (C. eleocharis) ........................................................... 107

Nelson sedge (C. nelsonii)..................................................................... 175

Nerved sedge (C. nervina) .................................................................... 177

New sedge (C. nova).............................................................................. 185

Nodding woodrush sedge (C. luzulaifolia)........................................... 280

Northern clustered sedge (C. arcta)....................................................... 51

Northwest sedge (C. concinnoides)......................................................... 83

Norway sedge (C. norvegica) ................................................................ 183

Obtuse sedge (C. obtusata) ................................................................... 187

Pale sedge (C. canescens, C. livida)................................................ 77, 155

Parry sedge (C. parryana) .................................................................... 195

Payson sedge (C. paysonis)................................................................... 199

Pointed broom-sedge (C. scoparia)....................................................... 231

Poor sedge (C. paupercula)................................................................... 197

Porcupine sedge (C. hystricina)............................................................ 135

Prickly sedge (C. stipata)...................................................................... 243

Pyrenaean sedge (C. pyrenaica) ........................................................... 217

Raynold sedge (C. raynoldsii)............................................................... 219

Retrorse sedge (C. retrorsa).................................................................. 221

Rock sedge (C. rupestris, C. saxatilis, C. scopulorum)........ 225, 227, 233

Ross sedge (C. rossii)............................................................................. 223

Russet sedge (C. saxatilis).................................................................... 227

Rusty sedge (C. subfusca)..................................................................... 247

Saw-beak sedge (C. stipata).................................................................. 243

Saw-leaved sedge (C. prionophylla)..................................................... 213

Scandinavian sedge (C. norvegica)....................................................... 183

Shasta sedge (C. straminiformis)......................................................... 245

Sheep sedge (C. illota) .......................................................................... 137

Sheepswool sedge (C. filifolia).............................................................. 113

Sheldon sedge (C. sheldonii)................................................................. 235

Shore sedge (C. limosa)......................................................................... 153
270 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Short-beaked sedge (C. brevior, C. simulata)................................ 69, 239

Shorthair sedge (C. exserta).................................................................. 111

Shortleaved sedge (C. fuliginosa var. misandra)................................ 121

Showy sedge (C. bella) ............................................................................ 65

Sierra-hare sedge (C. leporinella) ........................................................ 149

Silver sedge (C. praegracilis)................................................................ 209

Silvertop sedge (C. siccata)................................................................... 237

Silvery sedge (C. canescens) ................................................................... 77

Slender sedge (C. lasiocarpa) ............................................................... 145

Slenderbeaked sedge (C. athrostachya)................................................. 55

Slough sedge (C. atherodes).................................................................... 53

Small-headed sedge (C. illota).............................................................. 137

Small-tipped sedge (C. microglochin) .................................................. 163

Small-winged sedge (C. microptera) .................................................... 165

Smoky Mountain sedge (C. proposita) ................................................. 215

Soft-leaved sedge (C. disperma) ............................................................. 97

Spikenard sedge (C. nardina) .............................................................. 171

Specific sedge (C. specifica)................................................................... 241

Spiny star sedge (C. echinata).............................................................. 103

Swamp sedge (C. scoparia)................................................................... 231

Teacher sedge (C. praeceptorum) ......................................................... 207

Thick-headed sedge (C. pachystachya) ................................................ 193

Thread-leaved sedge (C. filifolia) ......................................................... 113

Tufted sedge (C. lenticularis) ............................................................... 147

Two-parted sedge (C. bipartita) ............................................................. 67

Two-tipped sedge (C. bipartita).............................................................. 67

Valley sedge (C. vallicola) .................................................................... 253

Water sedge (C. aquatilis) ...................................................................... 47

Western sedge (C. occidentalis)............................................................ 189

Whitney sedge (C. whitneyi)................................................................. 259

Wingseed sedge (C. luzulina) ............................................................... 157

Woodrush sedge (C. luzulina) .............................................................. 157

Wool-fruit sedge (C. lasiocarpa)........................................................... 145

Woolly sedge (C. lanuginosa) ............................................................... 143

Yellow bog sedge (C. dioica) ................................................................... 95

Yellow sedge (C. flava).......................................................................... 115
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 271

Appendix: Species Comparisons ______________________________

Table 1—Spikes gynaecandrous; heads ovoid to elongate; perigynia plano-convex to flattened; margins winged or thin-edge

	 Inflorescence	 	 	 

 shape and color Perigynium Perigynium dimensions Perigynium nerves 

Species at maturity shape Length	 Width	 Thickness	 Dorsal	 Ventral	 

 - - - - - - - - - mm - - - - - - - - - - - - Number - - - 

Carex abrupta Orbicular, Broadly lanceolate, 3–5.4 1–2.1 0.4–0.5 (5)7–10 3–7 

brownish flat or plano-convex, 

broadly rounded at 

the base, contracted

at the beak

C. athrostachya Ovoid, green to Narrowly ovate, flat to 2.8–4.8 0.9–1.8 7–9 5–7 

stramineous plano-convex, tapering 

or brown at the base, gradually 

tapering at the beak 

 

C. crawfordii Oblong, pale Lanceolate-subulate, 3–4 0.4–1.2 8–10 0–7 

green to flat, slightly tapering at (obscure) 

stramineous the base, gradually 

or tan tapering at the beak 

 

C. ebenea Ovoid, brownish Narrowly lanceolate or 3.5–7.1 1.1–1.7 0.4–0.5 7–9 0–5 

gold to oblanceolate, flat or 

greenish black plano-convex, usually 

tapering at the base, 

gradually tapering

at the beak

C. haydeniana Triangular- Broadly ovate, flat, 4.5–6.5 1.5–2.6 0.3–0.5 (0)4–9 0–3(8) 

ovoid, blackish broadly rounded at 

green to blackish the base, abruptly 

gold tapering at the

slender beak

Appendix
272 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

C. mariposana Oblong, green Ovate, plano-convex, 3.4–5 1.1–2.2 0.5–0.6 6–11 (0)4–

to reddish brown slightly tapering 

at the base, 

gradually tapering 

to a long beak 

C. microptera Suborbicular, Lanceolate-ovate, 2.9–5 1.1–2.4 0.3–0.5 (0)3–8 0–8 

greenish black flat, round-tapering (10) 

to brown at the base, 

gradually tapering 

at the beak

C. pachystachya Suborbicular or Broadly ovate, 2.8–5 1.1–2.3 0.5–0.7 (0)2–9 0 to 

oblong, golden plano-convex, broadly obscu

brown to brown rounded at the base, 

abruptly tapering 

at the short beak 

C. subfusca Oblong or ovoid, Broadly or narrowly 1.4–4.3 0.9–1.9 0.4–0.5 (0)2–11 0–6 

brown to ovate, plano-convex, 

stramineous slightly tapering at 

the rounded base, 

abruptly contracted

at the beak

a

See figure 10.

Table 1—con.

	 Inflorescence	 	 	 

 shape and color Perigynium Perigynium dimensions Perigynium ner

	 Species	 at maturity	 shape	 Length	 Width	 Thickness	 Dorsal	 Ven

 - - - - - - - - - mm - - - - - - - - - - - - Number - 
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 273

Table 2—Spikes gynaecandrous, broadly oblong, sessile to short-pedunculate, forming capitate to o

flattened; nerves marginal; stigmas 3; styles deciduous.

 Pistillate Perigynium Perigynium 

	 Species	 scales	 shape	 dimensions	 

Carex albonigra Often concealing Elliptic to ovate, 2.5–3.5 mm long, 

the perigynium; slightly flattened, 1.3–2 mm wide 

apex usually tapered toward the 

obtuse; margins base and apex

white-hyaline

C. atrosquama Shorter than the Narrowly elliptic- 4–4.5 mm long, 

perigynia; tip obovoid, somewhat 1.5–1.8 mm wide 

obtuse to acute plano-convex, 

tapered at the 

base and apex 

C. helleri Longer and Ovate or orbicular, 2.5–3.8 mm long, 

usually narrower flattened, rounded 1.5–2.8 mm wide 

than the to slightly tapered 

perigynium; at the base, rounded 

tip attenuate to at the apex 

acute or short- 

awned

C. heteroneura Tip acute to Broadly ovate, 3–4 mm long, 

acuminate; strongly flattened, 1.5–3 mm wide 

margins not rounded at the 

obviously hyaline base and apex
274 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Table 3—Spikes unisexual, usually cylindrical; terminal spike staminate and linear; perigynia bicon

	 Species	 Plant habit	 Bracts	 Perig

Carex aquatilis Not clumping, phyllopodic Lowest bract usually 2–3.6 m

longer than 1.2–2.2 

the inflorescence nerveles

margins

common

with red

 

C. lenticularis Clumping, phyllopodic Lowest bract longer 1.8–3.5 

than the inflorescence 1–1.8 m

membra

light gre

 readily d

C. nebrascensis Not clumping, phyllopodic Lowest bract usually 2.7–4.1 

longer than the 1.5–2.5 

inflorescence nerved, 

stramine

or reddi

C. prionophylla Clumping, aphyllopodic Lowest bract shorter 2.3–3.4 

than the inflorescence 1.2–1.7 

nerveles

 coppery 

C. scopuloruma Not clumping, Lowest bract generally 1.8–3.5 

phyllopodic, shorter than the 1.5–2.3 

sod-forming inflorescence nerveles

greenish 

a

C. scopulorum: spikes generally shorter than those of the other species, approximate and squarrose in outlin

trigonous rather than lenticular. 
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 275

Table 4—Spike solitary; inflorescence black to reddish brown.

	 Species	 Plant habit	 Spikes	 Perigy

Carex breweri Culms arising singly Dark brown, stout, Broadly ova

var. paddoensis to loosely cespitose ellipsoid or ovoid; body dark b

perigynia ascending paler at the 

C. nigricans Loosely cespitose Generally black, Lanceolate 

bottlebrush shaped; ovate, blac

perigynia widely distally

 spreading

C. pyrenaica Densely cespitose Generally brown with Lanceolate 

a ragged outline; slightly blac

perigynia spreading- distally

 ascending 

C. subnigricans Loosely to densely Generally reddish Lanceolate

cespitose, sod- brown with a smooth slightly infla

forming outline; perigynia brown or bl

 appressed-ascending 
276 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Table 5—Spikes gynaecandrous, oblong, small, sessile, forming an oblong or elongate head; pe

raised margins, plano-convex; stigmas 2. 

 Perigynium Perigynium 

	 Species	 dimensions	 color and texture	 

Carex brunnescens 1.7–2.7 mm long, Green to pale brown at maturity, Abru

1–1.5 mm wide thin-walled distally (often ruptures), 0.7 m

spongy-thickened below appe

C. canescens 1.8–3 mm long, Dull grayish brown or silvery at maturity, Ill-de

0.9–1.75 mm wide rough to papillate, but not thin-walled 0.2–

distally, spongy-thickened below obso

 the s

C. praeceptorum 1.5–2.5 mm long, Golden-tinged, slightly roughened Abru

1–1.2 mm wide (papillate), spongy thickened below long

folde
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 277

Table 6—Spikes usually sessile, small, few-flowered; terminal spike staminate; perigynia pubescent, 

stigmas 3.

	 	 Bract Pistillate 

	 Species	 (lowest)	 spikes	 Perigynium	 

Carex Shorter than the Bicolored with reddish Copiously loose-hairy; 

concinnoides inflorescence purple and green, base broadly sub- 

generally oblong, stipitate; marginal 

sessile, closely 5–10 nerves not keeled; 

flowered, approximate stigmas usually 3 or 4 

C. geophila Shorter than to Tan to brown, sessile, Puberulent; base 

slightly surpassing 2–5 flowered, generally narrowly stipitate; 

the inflorescence approximate marginal nerves keeled

stigmas 3 

C. rossii Leaflike, generally Green to purplish brown, Finely puberulent; 

much surpassing sessile to pedunculate, base narrowly stipitate; 

the inflorescence 2–5 flowered, approximate marginal nerves 

to widely separate prominent, but not 

keeled; stigmas 3 
278 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Table 7—Spikes solitary, usually brown to tan.

	 Species	 Spike	 Perigynium	 

Carex elynoides Linear with a smooth Obpyramidal, glabrous, S

outline, tan to reddish thin-membranous c

brown; perigynia erectascending or appressed

C. exserta Narrowly conic or oblong; Obovoid, minutely B

truncate at the base at hairy b

maturity, tan to reddish 

brown; perigynia spreadingascending

C. filifolia	 Narrowly conic with a ragged Obovoid to obpyramidal, A

outline, tan to golden brown; minutely hairy s

perigynia erect-ascending lo

 t

C. nardina Oblong to ovoid, stramineous Biconvex or plano-convex, 0

to reddish or golden brown; upper margins serrulate, b

perigynia erect-appressed lower margins glabrous h

 
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 279

Pistillate scales P

 Size and color Pubescence Color Length Widt

 - - - - - mm- - - - - 

Carex Brown to purple Ciliate on the Brown to purple 3.2–5.5 0.9–

fissuricola margin and midrib 

C. luzulaifolia Dark purple with Glabrous (sometimes Dark purple 4–5.3 1.7–

white margins with a ciliate awn) 

C. luzulina var. Greater than 0.2 Generally ciliate Generally 3–4.5 0.9–

ablata mm wide, purple near the tip mostly purple 

with a pale midrib 

C. luzulina var. Less than 0.2 mm Ciliate near Generally green 3–4.5 0.9–

luzulina wide, red brown the tip to reddish brown, 

with a pale midrib occasionally purple 

Table 8

 

—Bract sheathing; spikes usually sessile, small, few-flowered; terminal spike staminate; perig

beakless or short-beaked. 

 Involucral bract	 

	 Species	 Blade	 Sheath-shape	 Mouth	 

Carex Longer than Linear or tapering Generally Y- or V-shaped, 

fissuricola the inflorescence to the wide mouth with a purple margin 

C. luzulaifolia Almost none Conspicuously tapering Shallowly U-shaped, 

or very short to the wide mouth with a wide purple margin 

C. luzulina var. Shorter than the Linear Shallowly U-shaped 

ablata inflorescence or truncate 

C. luzulina var. Shorter than the Linear Shallowly U-shaped 

luzulina inflorescence or truncate 
280 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Table 9—Spikes short, sessile, indistinguishable; perigynia plano-convex, lanceolate-ovate with a 

	 Species	 Habit	 Leaves and leaf sheaths	 Perigy

Carex illota Slightly aphyllopodic, Clustered near the Narrowly ov

clumped, 1–3(4) dm tall base; ventral sheath lanceolate, 2

yellowish brown at long, 0.9–1.

the shallowly concave greenish fus

mouth brown

C. jonesii Slightly aphyllopodic, Closely clustered near Ovate-lance

arising singly from the base; ventral leaf to lance-tria

rhizomes or forming sheaths plane, truncate 2.5–4.8 mm 

small clumps 1.5–6 dm to concave at the mouth 0.9–1.4 mm 

tall

C. nervina Slightly phyllopodic, Not clustered at the base; Broadly lanc

cespitose, often forming leaf sheaths ribbed to ovate; the 

tussocks 4–8 dm tall ventrally, U-shaped at the distended by 

mouth with a thickened tissue, 2.8–4

rim 1–1.8 mm w

C. neurophora Strongly aphyllopodic, Not clustered near Lanceolate t

cespitose, often forming the base; leaf sheaths triangular, 2

tussocks 2–8 dm tall conspicuously cross-rugose long, 0.8–1.

ventrally, occasionally 

 somewhat cartilaginous 

at the convex mouth
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016. 281

Table 10—Spikes gynaecandrous; heads ovoid to elongate; perigynia plano-convex to concavo-conv

	 Species	 Habit	 Perigynium	 Bea

Carex petasata Not densely cespitose, 5.8–8 mm long, 1.5–2.25 mm Upper part 

to 9 dm tall wide, widest below the middle, terete, obliq

slightly tapered to the truncate 3.2–4.6 mm 

base, membranous, finely beak tip to 

nerved, brownish green to 

stramineous 

C. phaeocephala Densely cespitose, 3.5–6 mm long, usually widest Upper part 

to 3 dm tall at the middle, tapering to the terete, obli

blunt base, subcoriaceous, 1.8–2.6 mm 

coarsely nerved, tan to brownish beak tip to 

black with green margins 

C. xerantica Not densely cespitose, 3.7–7 mm long, widest below Flattened, s

to 7 dm tall the middle, abruptly tapered margined a

to a narrow base, lightly up to the tip

nerved to nearly nerveless 2.2–3.6 mm 

 beak tip to 
282 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-10. Reprinted August 2016.

Table 11—Perigynia smooth, inflated, bidentate; achene trigonous, flexuous, and continuous 

	 Species	 Habit	 Spike	 Perigyn

Carex retrorsa Densely cespitose Approximate; perigynia Lance-ovo

spreading to deflexed, not membrana

crowded 

C. utriculata Singly to loosely Remote; perigynia spreading Broadly ell

(C. rostrata) clumped, forms and crowded membrana

swards but firm

C. vesicaria Not cespitose, Remote; perigynia ascending, Lanceolate 

forms swards not crowded ovoid, mem

 puncticulat
Federal Recycling Program Printed on Recycled Paper

Hurd, Emerenciana G.; Shaw, Nancy L.; Mastrogiuseppe, Joy; Smithman, Lynda C.; Goodrich, Sherel. 1998. Field guide to Intermountain 

sedges. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-10. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department 

of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 282 p.

Descriptions of morphological characteristics, habitat, and geographic 

distributions are provided for 114 sedges (Carex spp.) of the Intermountain 

area. A dichotomous key, color photographs, line drawings, and discussions highlighting differences among similar species aid identification. An 

illustrated morphology, glossary, and index of common names simplify use. 

The guide is not inclusive; comprehensive local floras should be checked 

to confirm identifications.

Keywords: Carex, Cyperaceae, grasslike species, plant taxonomy, riparian, 

wetlands
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