Carex capitata
Capitate sedge
Family: Cyperaceae · Type: perennial · Native
Capitate sedge is a native perennial sedge found in the Sierra Nevada, White and Inyo Mountains, and high Cascade Range in peatlands and moist alpine meadows at elevations of 1,200 to 3,900 meters. Occurring in loosely clustered groups with slender stems 10 to 35 centimeters tall, this sedge produces distinctive spikes with brown pistillate flower bracts edged in white. Its leaves are exceptionally narrow, rolled into quill-like blades less than one millimeter wide that are distinctly shorter than the plant's inflorescence. The sedge develops small fruits 1 to 1.8 millimeters long, with pale green perigynia that have sharp edges and spread in an ascending pattern. Each plant develops two stigmas and forms dense, compact clusters characteristic of its capitate (head-like) growth pattern.
Habitat: Peatlands, moist alpine meadows
Elevation: 1200-3900 m
Bioregions: CaRH, SNH, W&I
California counties: Mono, Tulare, El Dorado, Fresno, Tuolumne, Inyo, Madera, Shasta, Nevada, Sierra, Tehama, Siskiyou, Butte, Plumas, Placer, Modoc, Alpine, Mariposa
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.