Carex pachycarpa

Furrowed broomsedge

Family: Cyperaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Furrowed broomsedge is a California native perennial sedge found in the Klamath Ranges, northern Coast Ranges, and Sierra Nevada Mountains in meadows and dry soils at elevations of 1,300 to 2,300 meters. Flowering time is not specified in available data, though the plant produces light brown or red-brown flower bracts in dense, head-like inflorescences 10 to 22 millimeters long. Growing with narrow leaf blades 2 to 5 millimeters wide, this sedge forms compact clusters with relatively short stems. Its distinctive leaves are characterized by a bristle-like inflorescence bract and tightly clustered spikelets that appear somewhat indistinct from a distance. The fruit is small, approximately 2 to 2.3 millimeters long, with a planoconvex ovate body that ranges from green to light brown.

Habitat: Meadows, dry soil

Elevation: 1300-2300 m

Bioregions: KR, NCoRH, CaRH, SNH

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