Carex illota

Sheep sedge

Family: Cyperaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Sheep sedge is a California native perennial sedge found in the high Sierra Nevada, southern Sierra Nevada, San Bernardino Mountains, and Warner Mountains in marshes, bogs, and wet meadows at elevations of 2,100 to 3,400 meters. Its dense dark brown inflorescences appear compact and distinctive, though flowering time is not specified. Growing with narrow leaves just 1 to 3 millimeters wide, this sedge forms dense clumps with relatively short stems. Its leaves and spikelets feature a striking dark brown to nearly black coloration with a shiny, obtuse appearance. The fruit is small, measuring 1.2 to 1.5 millimeters long with a planoconvex perigynium that spreads slightly and displays subtle textural characteristics.

Habitat: Marshes, bogs, wet meadows

Elevation: 2100-3400 m

Bioregions: CaRH, SNH, SnBr, Wrn

California counties: Tulare, Fresno, El Dorado, Madera, Modoc, Mono, Tuolumne, Inyo, San Bernardino, Placer, Alpine, Mariposa, Nevada, Shasta, Sierra, Plumas, Kern, Siskiyou, Riverside

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