Carex utriculata
Southern beaked sedge, Southern Beaked Sedge
(c) Owen Strickland, some rights reserved (CC BY) · licence
Family: Cyperaceae · Type: Grass · Native
Carex utriculata (Southern beaked sedge) is a native California grass in the Cyperaceae family, recognized by distinctive large size and crosswall pattern in sheaths.
Southern beaked sedge is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, northern Coast Ranges, high Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, Central Coast, San Francisco Bay Area, San Bernardino Mountains, and eastern Sierra Nevada in wet places and shallow water at elevations below 3,400 meters. Flowering from late spring to summer, this sedge produces green spikelets with reddish margins on lateral stems. Growing with robust rhizomatous stems 30 to 120 centimeters tall, the plant has blunt stem angles and a spongy-thickened base. Its leaves are approximately equal in length to the inflorescence, with lower leaf sheaths displaying a distinctive brickwork pattern of crosswalls. The fruit consists of inflated, shiny gold to brown perigynia 3.9 to 7 millimeters long, with a short beak and tiny erect teeth.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 132 sympatric species; distinctive large size and crosswall pattern in sheaths
Habitat and range
Habitat: Common. Wet places, shallow water
Elevation: < 3400 m
California counties: Butte, Mono, San Bernardino, Alpine, El Dorado, Fresno, Humboldt, Inyo, Marin, Mendocino, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tulare, Tuolumne, Ventura, Shasta, Lassen, Madera, Calaveras, Santa Cruz, Amador, Glenn, Tehama, Trinity, Mariposa, Lake, Sonoma, Los Angeles
Outside California: North America, Eurasia
How to tell it apart
vs Juncus: Carex stems are triangular when rolled; Juncus stems are round and often hollow with partitions inside.; vs Cyperus: Carex has seeds in individual flasks; Cyperus has umbrella-like flower clusters with flattened ribbon-like spikes.; vs Plantago: Carex has triangular stems and brown/green spikelets; Plantago has round flower stalks and white/brown spike flowers.; vs Eleocharis: Carex has leaves along the stem; Eleocharis is nearly leafless with just one spikelet per stem.; vs Schoenoplectus: Carex has leafy stems and flask-enclosed seeds; Schoenoplectus has leafless round stems with exposed seeds.
Frequently asked questions
Is Carex utriculata native to California?
Yes. Carex utriculata is native to California (recorded as native).
Where in California does Carex utriculata grow?
Carex utriculata occurs in Butte, Mono, San Bernardino, Alpine, El Dorado, Fresno, Humboldt, Inyo and other counties, at elevations of < 3400 m.
What plant family does Carex utriculata belong to?
Carex utriculata is in the Cyperaceae family, genus Carex.
What habitat does Carex utriculata grow in?
Carex utriculata grows in Common. Wet places, shallow water.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.