Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Carex aurea is a species of sedge known by the common name golden sedge. It is native to much of North America, including most of Canada and the western and central United States. It grows in wet habitat, often on soils of a basic pH. It produces stems up to about 40 centimeters tall. The flower cluster produces staminate and pistillate flowers, the latter yielding rounded fruits. The fruit is coated in a sac called a perigynium which is fleshy and green at full size and then turns bright orange just before it falls off.

Plant type

Grass

Size

8 - 16 in Tall

Form

Upright

Growth rate

Slow

Calscape icon
Color

Green

Flowering season

Spring

Special uses

Containers

Sun

Partial Shade

Soil description

Prefers sandy or loamy soils. Does not grow well in clay soils.

Site type

Wet places

Plant communities

Lodgepole Forest, Red Fir Forest, Subalpine Forest, Yellow Pine Forest, Wetland-Riparian

Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 6 likely

Confirmed Likely

Common Ringlet

Coenonympha tullia

Olive Green Cutworm Moth

Dargida procinctus

Dun Skipper

Euphyes vestris

Lesser Wainscot

Mythimna oxygala