Carex arcta

Northern clustered sedge, Northern Clustered Sedge

Family: Cyperaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.2

Northern clustered sedge is a rare (CNPS 2B.2) California native perennial found in northern coastal California and northern coastal ranges in wet places, especially sphagnum bogs, at elevations below 1,400 meters. Flowering from May to July, this sedge produces green to brown spikelets 5 to 10 millimeters long in dense clusters. Growing in dense tufted clumps with stems 15 to 40 centimeters tall, it forms distinctive clustered bunches in wetland environments. Its leaf blades are narrow, 2 to 4 millimeters wide, with lower leaf sheaths distinctively marked by sparse red dots. The fruit is small, approximately 1.2 to 1.6 millimeters long, with an ovate green perigynia featuring a short conic beak.

Habitat: Wet places, especially sphagnum bogs

Elevation: < 1400 m

Bioregions: NCo, NCoRO

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.