Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Carex echinata is a species of sedge known by the common names star sedge and little prickly sedge. This plant is native to North and Central America and parts of Eurasia. It has a solid, ridged stem that may exceed a meter in height and it has a few thready leaves toward the base. The flower clusters are star-shaped spikelets and are 3 to 15 millimeters wide. This is a plant of wet forests, marshes, and mountain meadows of moderate elevation. It is commonly associated with peat bogs.

Plant type

Grass

Size

2 - 3 ft Tall

Form

Upright

Growth rate

Slow

Calscape icon
Color

Green

Flowering season

Spring

Special uses

Containers

Sun

Full Sun

Soil drainage

Standing

Soil description

Prefers loamy or clay soils. Grows poorly in sandy soils.

Site type

Wet places, sphagnum bogs

Plant communities

Wetland-Riparian

Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 7 likely

Confirmed Likely

American Ear Moth

Amphipoea americana

Common Ringlet

Coenonympha tullia

Olive Green Cutworm Moth

Dargida procinctus

Dun Skipper

Euphyes vestris