Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Carex amplifolia is a species of sedge known by the common name bigleaf sedge. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Montana to California, where it grows in wet and seasonally wet areas in coniferous forests. This rhizomatous sedge produces stems 50 to 100 centimeters tall. The winged stems have reddish tinted bases and are wrapped in long, roughly hairy leaves up to 2 centimeters wide. The flower cluster is made up of 5 to 8 cylindrical spikes each up to 10 or 14 centimeters long and often made up of hundreds of individual flowers.

Plant type

Grass

Size

2 - 3 ft Tall

Calscape icon
Color

Red

Special uses

Containers

Sun

Deep Shade

Ease of care

Moderate

Sunset Zones

1, 2, 3, 4*, 5*, 6*, 7, 8, 9, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

Site type

Wet places

Plant communities

Coastal Prairie, Douglas-Fir Forest, Mixed Evergreen Forest, Red Fir Forest, Yellow Pine Forest, Wetland-Riparian

Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 8 likely

Confirmed Likely

American Ear Moth

Amphipoea americana

Common Ringlet

Coenonympha tullia

Olive Green Cutworm Moth

Dargida procinctus

Dun Skipper

Euphyes vestris