Carex bolanderi
Bolander's sedge
(c) Dean Wm. Taylor, some rights reserved (CC BY) · licence
Family: Cyperaceae · Type: Grass · Native
Carex bolanderi (Bolander's sedge) is a native California grass in the Cyperaceae family, recognized by long linear spikes and proportionally long tapered beaks.
Bolander's sedge is a California native perennial found in northwestern California, the Cascade Range, northern Sierra Nevada, Sierra Nevada, central coast, San Francisco Bay Area, southern coastal ranges, southwestern California, and Modoc Plateau in moist meadows, springs, shores, and forest at elevations below 2,500 meters. Flowering seasonally, this plant produces sedge-like spikes with gold-brown bracts and delicate pistillate flowers. Growing with loosely clustered stems 15 to 90 centimeters tall, it forms distinctive tufted clumps in wet habitats. Its leaf blades are relatively narrow, measuring 2 to 5 millimeters wide, with a distinctive green coloration. The fruit consists of small, narrow-elliptic perigynia with lance-shaped beaks measuring 1.5 to 2.5 millimeters long.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 139 sympatric species; long linear spikes and proportionally long tapered beaks
Habitat and range
Habitat: Moist meadows, springs, shores, forest
Elevation: < 2500 m
California counties: Mendocino, Humboldt, Sonoma, Fresno, Butte, Monterey, Plumas, Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Colusa, Del Norte, Marin, Nevada, Placer, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Solano, Trinity, Tulare, San Mateo, Tuolumne, El Dorado, San Francisco, Mariposa, Siskiyou, Lake, Modoc, Inyo, San Luis Obispo, Tehama, Kern, Glenn, Sierra, Alameda, Lassen, Napa, Sacramento, Madera, San Benito, San Diego
Outside California: to British Columbia, Montana, New Mexico
How to tell it apart
vs Juncus: Carex stems are triangular when rolled; Juncus stems are round and often hollow with partitions inside.; vs Cyperus: Carex has seeds in individual flasks; Cyperus has umbrella-like flower clusters with flattened ribbon-like spikes.; vs Plantago: Carex has triangular stems and brown/green spikelets; Plantago has round flower stalks and white/brown spike flowers.; vs Eleocharis: Carex has leaves along the stem; Eleocharis is nearly leafless with just one spikelet per stem.; vs Schoenoplectus: Carex has leafy stems and flask-enclosed seeds; Schoenoplectus has leafless round stems with exposed seeds.
Frequently asked questions
Is Carex bolanderi native to California?
Yes. Carex bolanderi is native to California (recorded as native).
Where in California does Carex bolanderi grow?
Carex bolanderi occurs in Mendocino, Humboldt, Sonoma, Fresno, Butte, Monterey, Plumas, Riverside and other counties, at elevations of < 2500 m.
What plant family does Carex bolanderi belong to?
Carex bolanderi is in the Cyperaceae family, genus Carex.
What habitat does Carex bolanderi grow in?
Carex bolanderi grows in Moist meadows, springs, shores, forest.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.