Carex multicostata

Many-ribbed sedge

Family: Cyperaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Many-ribbed sedge is a California native perennial sedge found in the high Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, San Bernardino Mountains, and San Jacinto Mountains in dry meadows and open conifer forests at elevations of 1,900 to 3,500 meters. Its flat leaf blades are 2 to 6 millimeters wide with distinctive dense, elliptic inflorescences 20 to 40 millimeters long. Growing with compact clusters of spikelets, this sedge produces reddish-brown pistillate flower bracts with wide white margins. Its leaves feature narrow, flat blades with multiple distinct veins, creating a ribbed appearance characteristic of the species. The fruit is small, ovate to narrow-ovate, with green to light brown translucent walls and prominent veins along its surface.

Habitat: dry soil, meadows, open conifer forest

Elevation: 1900-3500 m

Bioregions: CaRH, SNH, SnBr, SnJt

California counties: El Dorado, Fresno, Mono, Riverside, San Bernardino, Alpine, Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Inyo, Madera, Placer, Humboldt, Amador, Glenn, Nevada, Mariposa, Kern, Sierra, Butte, Lassen, Lake, Tehama, Alameda, Calaveras, Contra Costa, Mendocino, San Diego, Napa

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