Carex whitneyi
Whitney's sedge
Family: Cyperaceae · Type: perennial · Native
Whitney's sedge is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, northern California Ranges, and northern and central Sierra Nevada Mountains in dry, sandy or gravelly meadows and open forests at elevations of 1,200 to 3,400 meters. Its flowers emerge with white-margined bracts on lateral spikelets, creating distinctive clusters. Growing in dense tufts with stems 25 to 100 centimeters tall and brown to red-brown bases, this sedge forms robust clumps in mountain landscapes. Its leaf blades are 2 to 6 millimeters wide, covered with long, soft hairs and featuring brownish sheath fronts. The plant produces fruit 2.8 to 3.9 millimeters long with green perigynia that have strong 5-veined surfaces and subtle white-tipped beaks.
Habitat: Dry, sandy or gravelly meadows, open forest
Elevation: 1200-3400 m
Bioregions: KR, CaRH, n&c SNH, Wrn
California counties: Mono, Alpine, Fresno, Lassen, Mariposa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tuolumne, Butte, Inyo, El Dorado, Calaveras, Amador, Modoc, Madera, Tulare, Sierra, Tehama, Trinity, Santa Barbara
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.