Carex nebrascensis

Nebraska sedge

Family: Cyperaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Nebraska sedge is a native perennial sedge found in the Klamath Ranges, Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, Central Valley, western Transverse Ranges, San Bernardino Mountains, San Jacinto Mountains, Great Basin, and northern Desert Mountains in meadows and swamps at elevations below 2,500 meters. Its distinctive blue-glaucous leaves are thick and 3 to 12 millimeters wide, forming tufted clusters at the stem base. Growing in dense clumps with lateral spikelets 3 to 6 centimeters long and 5 to 9 millimeters wide, the sedge presents a two-colored inflorescence with bracts often longer than the spike. The leaves are characteristically thick with a strong blue-gray coloration, giving the plant a unique appearance in wet mountain habitats. Its fruit features a reddish-dotted perigynia with a short brown or purple-tipped beak, typical of this robust mountain sedge.

Habitat: Meadows, swamps

Elevation: < 2500 m

Bioregions: KR, CaRH, SNH, GV, WTR, SnBr, SnJt, GB, n DMtns

California counties: San Bernardino, Fresno, Lassen, Mono, Plumas, Tulare, Tuolumne, El Dorado, Madera, Modoc, Nevada, Tehama, Inyo, Kern, Riverside, Alpine, Butte, Calaveras, Placer, Shasta, Siskiyou, Trinity, Amador, Sierra, Los Angeles, Contra Costa, Lake, Sonoma, Mariposa, San Diego, Ventura, Glenn, Humboldt, Santa Cruz

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