Carex tahoensis

Tahoe sedge

Family: Cyperaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.3

Tahoe sedge is a California native perennial sedge found in central Sierra Nevada Mountains on open, rocky slopes at elevations of 3,200 to 3,700 meters. Flowering from late summer to early fall, this plant produces white, gold, and brown spikelets in compact inflorescences 15 to 30 millimeters long. Growing with slender stems, it forms dense tufts with narrow leaves approximately 1.5 to 2 millimeters wide that are distinctively folded or downcurved. Its leaves have small white-margined bracts, with pistillate flower bracts featuring red-brown coloration and a straw or tan center. The fruit is characterized by planoconvex perigynia ranging from green to coppery brown, with a distinctive cylindric beak that is gold to reddish in color.

Habitat: Open, rocky slopes

Elevation: 3200-3700 m

Bioregions: c&amps SNH

California counties: Inyo, Mono, El Dorado, Alpine, Tuolumne, Fresno, Mariposa

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