Carex congdonii

Congdon's sedge

Family: Cyperaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.3

Congdon's sedge is a California native perennial found in the central Sierra Nevada Mountains in talus habitats at elevations of 2,600 to 3,900 meters. Flowering during the alpine summer, this sedge produces dark spikelets with pistillate flower bracts in deep purple hues. Growing in dense tufts with stems 40 to 90 centimeters tall and a distinctive red to purple base, it forms robust clumps in rocky alpine environments. Its leaf blades are 3 to 8 millimeters wide, with sheaths featuring distinctive red-dotted surfaces and occasional hairy textures. The sedge produces small fruits 1.5 to 2.5 millimeters long, with perigynium that are dark purple on the upper half and delicately tapered to a narrow beak.

Habitat: Talus

Elevation: 2600-3900 m

Bioregions: c&amps SNH.

California counties: Fresno, Mono, Tulare, Tuolumne, Inyo, Madera, Mariposa

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