Carex davyi

Davy's sedge

Family: Cyperaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.3

Davy's sedge is a rare (CNPS 1B.3) California native perennial found in northern and central Sierra Nevada in dry, often sparse meadows and slopes at elevations of 1,400 to 3,300 meters. The sedge produces distinctive orange-brown spikelets from sparse inflorescences 10 to 25 millimeters long. Growing with stems 25 to 35 centimeters tall, it has narrow leaf blades measuring 1.5 to 2.5 millimeters wide. Its leaf bracts are notable for mostly covering the perigynia, with obtuse to acuminate tips and narrow or absent white margins. The mature fruits are small, measuring 1.9 to 3 millimeters long, with red-gold perigynia that have pronounced abaxial veins.

Habitat: dry often sparse meadows, slopes

Elevation: 1400-3300 m

Bioregions: n&ampc SNH

California counties: Sierra, Alpine, El Dorado, Tuolumne, Nevada, Lassen, Placer, Butte, Calaveras

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