Carex atherodes

Wheat sedge, Wheat Sedge

Family: Cyperaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.2

Wheat sedge is a rare (CNPS 2B.2) California native perennial found in the high Cascade Range and Modoc Plateau in marshes and seasonally wet meadows at elevations of 1,300 to 1,600 meters. Flowering from May to July, this sedge produces reddish-brown spikelets with white-margined bracts. Growing with tall stems 30 to 150 centimeters high, it forms dense clumps in wet habitats. Its leaves are 3 to 10 millimeters wide, distinctively hairy on the lower surface with soft-textured sheaths. The fruit is a stalked, green perigynia 7 to 10 millimeters long with a straight beak and curved teeth.

Habitat: Marshes, seasonally wet meadows

Elevation: 1300-1600 m

Bioregions: CaRH, MP (exc Wrn)

California counties: Siskiyou, Modoc

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