Lipocarpha occidentalis

Western halfchaff sedge

Family: Cyperaceae · Type: annual · Native

Western halfchaff sedge is a California native annual found in northern Coast Ranges, Sierra Nevada, and Peninsular Ranges in wet soil and emergent shorelines at elevations of 1,200 to 1,900 meters. Flowering from June to August, this delicate sedge produces tiny, compact spikes with light brown fruits. Growing with diminutive stems just 1 to 7 centimeters tall, it forms dense, nearly spherical inflorescences. Its fine flowering bracts have short awns approximately 1 to 1.5 millimeters long, with fruit surfaces that are delicately pitted and widest near the tip. The fruits are light brown, less than one millimeter wide, with gently convex surfaces.

Habitat: Wet soil, especially emergent shorelines

Bloom period: Jun-Aug

Elevation: 1200-1900 m

Bioregions: NCoRO, SN, PR

California counties: Mariposa, Siskiyou, Tuolumne, Kern, El Dorado, Nevada, Fresno, Riverside, Tulare, Humboldt, Merced, Trinity, Calaveras, San Bernardino, Lake, Los Angeles, San Diego, Glenn, Butte, Sacramento, Alpine

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