Carex obnupta

Slough sedge, Slough Sedge

Family: Cyperaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Slough sedge is a California native perennial found in coastal bioregions including northern Coast Ranges, central Coast, and San Francisco Bay area in moist openings, shores, and redwood forests at elevations below 1,100 meters. This sedge produces distinctive lateral spikelets that are flexible and nodding, with staminate tips and white-margined pistillate flower bracts. Growing in dense, large clumps with rhizomatous roots, it develops erect stems with distinctive purple-prickled leaf sheaths. Its leaf blades are 3 to 7 millimeters wide, with lower leaves featuring fibrous sheaths and thickened leaf mouths. The plant produces dark brown, shiny fruits with thick walls that are often deeply indented on one or two sides, measuring 1.4 to 2.5 millimeters long.

Habitat: Moist openings, shores, redwood forest

Elevation: < 1100 m

Bioregions: NCo, nw KR, NCoRO, CCo, SnFrB

California counties: Humboldt, Sonoma, Del Norte, Marin, Monterey, San Francisco, Mendocino, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, San Luis Obispo, Colusa, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, Alameda, Placer, Napa, Amador

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