Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Carex rossii is a species of sedge known by the common name Ross' sedge. It is native to much of western and central North America, from Alaska and northwestern Canada to the American southwest to the Great Lakes region. It grows in many habitat types, including wet and dry areas in forest, sagebrush, prairie, and alpine meadows. This sedge produces a dense clump or solid mat of slender stems up to about 40 centimeters tall from a shallow network of rhizomes. The pale to dark green leaves are usually longer than the stems. The flower cluster contains one or more staminate flower spikes above more rounded pistillate spikes. The fruit is three-sided and covered in a greenish or brownish perigynium.

Plant type

Grass

Size

1 ft Tall

Form

Upright

Growth rate

Moderate

Calscape icon
Color

Green

Flowering season

Spring

Special uses

Containers

Sun

Full Sun, Partial Shade

Soil description

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

Site type

Dry places, meadows

Plant communities

Alpine Fell-Fields, Coastal Prairie, Lodgepole Forest, Red Fir Forest, Subalpine Forest, Yellow Pine Forest

Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 7 likely

Confirmed Likely

Common Ringlet

Coenonympha tullia

Olive Green Cutworm Moth

Dargida procinctus

Dun Skipper

Euphyes vestris

American Crescent Borer

Helotropha reniformis