Blennosperma nanum is a California species of plants in the daisy family. Common names include glue-seed, common stickyseed, and yellow carpet. It is an annual with small yellow flower heads The heads are a paler yellow than many other daisy-like flowers, and the ring of stamens ooze a viscous white juice containing the pollen. The fruits are also carried in a gluey fluid. The Greek name for the genus means "slimy seed. "The species is distributed throughout the lower elevations in California from Shasta County to San Diego County, but nowhere is it particularly abundant. It is a resident of vernal pool floral communities. Glue-seed is often one of the first flowers to bloom as winter turns to spring.

Scirpus fluviatilis (syn. Bolboschoenus fluviatilis, Schoenoplectus fluviatilis) is a species of flowering plant in the Cyperaceae family. Its range includes Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Canada, United States, northeastern Mexico. Common names include river bulrush. River bulrush can be found in fresh water or brackish water marshes, and in the quiet waters of streams and lakes. River bulrush can be found in fresh water or brackish water marshes, and in the quiet waters of streams and lakes.

Bolboschoenus maritimus is a species in the Cyperaceae (Sedge) family known as Alkali Bulrus. This is a strictly wetland plant that is highly tolerant of alkali or salty conditions. It is found throughout California, wherever these conditions exist. It spreads vigorously by rhizomes and will rapidly fill in wherever there is sufficient water. This plant is unlikely to be used in residential gardens but could be useful if you are creating a bioswale.

Prairie Rush (Scirpus maritimus) is a native perennial herb that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in marshes, at elevations from 0-8200 feet.

Bolboschoenus robustus is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family. It is known by many common names: saltmarsh bulrush, alkali bulrush, sturdy bulrush, seacoast bulrush, stout bulrush, three-cornered sedge or leafy three-cornered sedge, and seaside club-rush. B. robustus is native to North America, where it can be found along the eastern and southern coasts from Nova Scotia south to Florida and along the Gulf coastline to Tabasco. It is also known in California, Bermuda, the Bahamas and northern South America. It is most often a coastal species, occurring in wet habitat such as marshes in brackish and saltwater. It is a perennial herb growing from a rhizome system with associated tubers. The erect stems are three-angled, the angles rough with short hairs. They reach well over a meter in maximum height. The leaves sheath the stem and have long, flat or v-shaped blades. The inflorescence bears one or more clusters of many spikelets as well as long, leaflike bracts.

Boykinia major is a species of flowering plant in the saxifrage family known by the common name large boykinia. It is native to the western United States from California to Montana, where it grows in shady forest understory and wet mountain meadows. It is a rhizomatous perennial herb producing large leaves with blades up to 50 centimeters long, borne on petioles up to 35 centimeters in length. Each leaf has several lobes which are often sharply toothed along the edges. The flower cluster reaches up to a meter tall on a thin stem. It bears a dense, flat-topped array of many small white flowers with yellowish centers, each with five pointed sepals and five larger rounded or oval petals.

Boykinia occidentalis is a species of flowering plant in the saxifrage family known by the common name coastal brookfoam. It is native to the west coast of North America from British Columbia to Los Angeles County and in the central Sierras. It grows in shady areas near riverbanks and streams. It is a rhizomatous perennial herb producing large, palmate leaves with blades up to 45 centimeters long and 12 wide, borne on petioles up to 30 centimeters in length. Each leaf has several rounded lobes with dull teeth along the edges. The flower cluster reaches 30 to 60 centimeters tall on a thin stem. It bears an open array of many small white flowers, each with five tiny pointed sepals and five larger oval petals. The flowers are somewhat more showy than the closely related Boykinia rotundifolia.

Boykinia rotundifolia is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the saxifrage family known by the common name Roundleafed Brookfoam. It is endemic to southern California from Ventura to San Diego Counties, where it grows in shady forested areas near streams in the mountains below 6,000 ft. It is a rhizomatous perennial herb producing leaves with blades up to 30 centimeters long, borne on petioles up to 18 centimeters in length. Each leaf has several rounded lobes with dull teeth along the edges. The flower cluster reaches up to a meter tall on a thin stem. It bears a dense array of many small white flowers, each with five tiny pointed sepals and five larger oval petals.

Brickellia greenei is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common name Greene's brickellbush. It is native to the mountain ranges of southwestern Oregon and northern California, including the Cascades, the northern Coast Ranges, and Sierra Nevada (mostly as north of Alpine County but with a few isolated populations in Inyo and Mariposa Counties). Brickellia greenei is a perennial herb growing 20 to 50 centimeters (7. 9 to 19. 7 in) tall with several glandular, sticky stems covered in leaves. The oval, toothed leaves are up to 3 centimeters (1. 2 in) long and sticky with resin glands.

Brodiaea coronaria is the type species of Brodiaea and also known by the common name crown brodiaea. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to northern California, where it grows in mountains and grasslands. This is a perennial herb growing from a corm and producing an erect flower cluster with a few basal leaves. The flower cluster is up to about 25 centimeters tall and bears lilylike flowers on an array of pedicels. Each flower is a tube several centimeters long opening into a bell-shaped corolla of six bright purple lobes each up to 3 centimeters long. In the center are three stamens and whitish sterile stamens known as staminodes. There are two subspecies of this plant. One of them, the Indian Valley brodiaea (ssp. rosea), is a rare pink-flowered subspecies endemic to California.[citation needed] It was first collected by Archibald Menzies during the Vancouver Expedition, and published as Hookera coronaria by Richard Salisbury in his Paradisus Londinensis in 1808. In 1811, James Edward Smith recognised it as belonging to a separate genus, and segregated it into Brodiaea as Brodiaea grandiflora. Smith's genus was accepted, but the priority of Salisbury's specific epithet was also recognised, hence the current name.

Brodiaea orcuttii is a species of flowering plant in the cluster-lily genus known by the common name Orcutt's brodiaea. It is native to southern California, mainly San Diego County, where it is an uncommon species. Its range probably extends into Baja California. It is a perennial producing an flower cluster up to 25 centimeters tall which bears flowers on pedicels each a few centimeters long. The flower has six purple petals each between 1 and 2 centimeters long. This is the only brodiaea that lacks staminodes.

Bromus ciliatus is a species of brome grass known by the common name fringed brome. It is native to most of North America, including most of Canada, most of the United States except the South, and northern Mexico. It is a plant of many habitats, including temperate coniferous forest. It is a perennial grass growing in tufts up to 1.2 meters tall, and occasionally taller in the Great Plains. The leaves often have sparse long hairs. The open flower cluster bears many spikelets on stalks, the upper ones ascending and the lower nodding or drooping. The spikelets are flattened and made up of layered rounded fruits.

Calamagrostis bolanderi is a species of grass known by the common name Bolander's reedgrass. It is endemic to northern California, where it grows in moist coastal habitat such as temperate coniferous forest, wet meadows and bogs, and coastal scrub. This is a perennial grass growing to heights between 0.5 and 1.5 meters, each erect stem generally with four nodes. It has flat leaves and open, spreading flower clusters of very small spikelets. Each spikelet is made up of one floret surrounded by a v-shaped pair of smooth leafs.

Calamagrostis breweri is a species of grass known by the common name shorthair reedgrass. It is native to the mountains of northern California and Oregon, where it grows in forests and meadows in subalpine and alpine climates. This is a perennial grass without rhizomes which forms tufts and bunches up to about 50 centimeters in maximum height, but generally shorter. The small, sparse leaves are mainly located at the base of the stems. The inflorescence is small and scattered, with spikelets about half a centimeter long.

Calamagrostis canadensis is a species of grass known by the common names bluejoint and Canadian reedgrass. It is native to most of northern North America, including most all of Canada and all of the continental United States except for the South. It can be found in many types of habitat, including forest, taiga, and tundra in subarctic regions. It is the most common and widespread Calamagrostis species on the continent. It is a perennial grass with a branching stem reaching heights between 60 centimeters and 1.5 meters. The flat, drooping leaves are rough with tiny hairs. The flower cluster is up to 25 centimeters long and may be open and loose or narrow and densely packed with spikelets. Each spikelet is about half a centimeter long and purplish in color. It is a palatable food plant for livestock and wild grazing animals. It is a tough rhizomatous grass that provides soil stability in wet areas and is one of the first plants to reestablish on sites of recent oil spills. It can be a nuisance on sites of forest revegetation because it can outcompete conifer seedlings.

Calamagrostis canadensis is a species of grass, having three or more varieties, in the Poaceae family. It is known variously by the common names of bluejoint, bluejoint reedgrass, marsh reedgrass, Canadian reedgrass, meadow pinegrass, and marsh pinegrass. The varieties often overlap in where they are distributed. In the U. S. . Most states in the U. S. have one or more varieties of C. canadensis, the most common by distribution being C. c. var. canadensis. Only Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont have all three; and only one, Kentucky, has C. c. var. macouniana with no others. 15 states have only C. c. var. canadensis, without others (Arizona, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Maine, North Carolina, Nevada, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming); and no state has C. c. var. langsdorffii without sharing territory with C. c. var. canadensis. 14 states have both C. c. var. canadensis and C. c. var. macouniana, without C. c. var. langsdorffii (Connecticut, Iowa, Illinois, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Virginia, and Wisconsin); and only seven have both C. c. var. canadensis and C. c. var. langsdorffii, and no C. c. var. macouniana (Alaska, California, Colorado, Georgia, Montana, Oregon, and Washington)In Canada and elsewhere.

Calamagrostis nutkaensis is a species of grass known by the common names Pacific Reedgrass and Nootka Reedgrass. It is native to western North America from Alaska to San Luis Obispo County, where it is mainly a coastal species growing in moist areas such as beaches, dunes, coastal woodlands and wetlands. This is a perennial grass forming thick tufts of stems which may exceed a meter in height. There are several flat grass leaves up to a centimeter wide. The flower cluster is usually narrow and thin. This is a popular ornamental grass for the north coast.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Prefers sun or part shade in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Selected for use in the garden. Introduced by Roger Raiche of the UC Botanic Garden.

Narrow Spiked Reedgrass (Calamagrostis stricta ssp. inexpansa) is a native grass that grows in northern, southern and central California. It is moderately fast growing and long-lived. It grows in an upright form to a height of 3 feet, with active growth during the spring and summer. Flowers are purple and bloom in the late spring. Leaves are dark green and deciduous. It tends to grow in slopes, at elevations from 4500-11000 feet.

Callitriche marginata is a species of aquatic plant known by the common name winged water starwort. Callitriche marginata is native to the west coast of North America from British Columbia to Baja California, where it grows in and around vernal pools. It is secure in the southern part of its range in California and Baja, but is rare in Oregon, unknown in Washington, and known from only eight occurrences in British Columbia. In California, it is found from the Coast Ranges, Transverse Ranges, and Peninsular Ranges, through the Central Valley to the High Sierra Nevada.

Calochortus longibarbatus is a species of flowering plant in the lily family with the common names long-haired star-tulip and longbeard mariposa lily. It is native to Oregon, Washington, and northern California, where it grows in the forest and woodlands of the mountains. It is a bulb-producing perennial herb which produces a branching stem up to about 30 centimeters tall. Flowers are upright, bell-shaped, pink to lavender with darker markings on the petals.

Long Haired Star Tulip (Calochortus longebarbatus var. longebarbatus) is a rare native perennial herb that grows in Northern California, primarily in the Warner Mountains, the High Cascade Range and Modoc Plateau regions. It tends to grow in vernal meadows and heavy clay soil, at elevations from 3900-6200 feet.

Calochortus minimus is a California species of flowering plants in the lily family known by the common name Sierra mariposa lily. Calochortus minimus is endemic to the Sierra Nevada of California, where it is a common member of the flora along mountain lakesides from Plumas County to Tulare County. Calochortus minimus is endemic to the Sierra Nevada of California, where it is a common member of the flora along mountain lakesides from Plumas County to Tulare County. Calochortus minimus is a perennial herb producing an unbranching stem no taller than 10 centimeters. The basal leaf is 10 to 20 centimeters long and does not wither at flowering. The inflorescence bears up to 10 erect, bell-shaped flowers. Each flower has three pointed sepals and three small white petals. The fruit is a winged capsule up to 2 centimeters long.

Calochortus nudus is a species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common name naked mariposa lily. It is native to the mountains of northern California and southern Oregon, where it grows in wet areas such as meadows and lakeside bogs. It is a perennial herb producing an unbranching stem up to about 25 centimeters tall. The basal leaf is 5 to 15 centimeters long and does not wither at flowering. The flower cluster bears one or more erect, bell-shaped flowers. Each flower has three small, pointed sepals and three wider petals all pinkish or lavender in color. The petals are mostly hairless and about 1.5 centimeters long. The fruit is a capsule about 2 centimeters long.

Calochortus palmeri is a species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common name Palmer's mariposa lily. It is endemic to California, where it is distributed mostly throughout the coastal mountain ranges from the Los Angeles area to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is a perennial herb producing a straight, branching stem up to 60 centimeters tall. The basal leaf is 10 to 20 centimeters long and withers by flowering. The flower cluster bears 1 to 6 erect, open bell-shaped flowers. Each flower has three brown-speckled sepals 3 centimeters long and three wider petals each 2 or 3 centimeters long. The petals are white to light lavender and have bases with yellow or purple hairs, or lacking hairs, depending on variety. There are two varieties of this species, the rarer of the two, Munz's mariposa lily (var. munzii), being known only from Riverside County.

Munz's Mariposa Lily (Calochortus palmeri var. munzii) is a rare native perennial herb that grows in Southern California, primarily in the Peninsular Range region. It tends to grow in meadows and vernally moist places, at elevations from 3900-7200 feet.

Palmer's Mariposa Lily (Calochortus palmeri var. palmeri) is a rare native perennial herb that grows in southern and central California. It tends to grow in meadows and vernally moist places, at elevations from 3900-7200 feet.

Calochortus uniflorus is a species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common names Monterey mariposa lily and large-flowered star-tulip. It is native to California and Oregon, where it grows in moist areas, such as meadows, in coastal hills and lower-elevation mountains. It is a perennial herb producing a short, unbranching stem generally less than 5 centimeters tall. The basal leaf is up to 40 centimeters long and does not wither by flowering; there may be one or more shorter leaves farther up the stem. The flower cluster is a loose cluster of 1 to 5 erect, bell-shaped flowers. Each flower has three petals up to about 3 centimeters long and three shorter sepals beneath. The petals are white to pink in color and may have purple spotting near the bases. The fruit is a capsule up to 2.5 centimeters long.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and sun or part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Caltha leptosepala (White Marsh Marigold, Twinflowered Marsh Marigold, or Broadleaved Marsh Marigold) is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family. It is native to western North America from Alaska to New Mexico, where it grows in wet mountain habitats in alpine and subalpine regions. There are two general wild types of this species, one native to the interior and one that grows along the Pacific coast and coastal mountains, but these are not always treated separately. This is a perennial herb growing a mostly naked stem with leaves located basally. The leaves are up to 13 or 15 centimeters long and may have smooth, wrinkled, or toothed edges. The flower cluster bears one or more flowers. Each flower is 1 to 4 centimeters wide and lacks petals, having instead petallike sepals which are usually white or sometimes yellow. In the center are many long, flat stamens and fewer pistils.

Calystegia sepium (larger bindweed, hedge bindweed, Rutland beauty, bugle vine, heavenly trumpets, bellbind, granny-pop-out-of-bed) (formerly Convolvulus sepium) is a species of bindweed, with a subcosmopolitan distribution throughout the temperate Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an herbaceous perennial that twines around other plants, in a counter-clockwise direction, to a height of up to 2-4 m, rarely 5 m. The pale matte green leaves are arranged spirally, simple, pointed at the tip and arrowhead shaped, 5-10 cm long and 3-7 cm broad.

Large Camas is a native perennial herb that grows in central and northern California. It tends to grow at elevations from 2000-8000 feet.

Suksdorf's Large Camas (Camassia leichtlinii ssp. suksdorfii) is a native perennial herb that grows in central and northern California. It tends to grow at elevations from 2000-8000 feet.

Camassia quamash, commonly known as camas, small camas, common camas, common camash or quamash, is a perennial herb. It is one species of the genus Camassia and is native to western North America in large areas of southern Canada and the northwestern United States, from British Columbia and Alberta to California and east from Washington state to Montana and Wyoming. Though the once-immense spreads of camas lands have diminished because of modern developments and agriculture, numerous camas prairies and marshes may still be seen today. In the Great Basin, expanded settlement by whites accompanied by turning cattle and hogs onto camas prairies greatly diminished food available to native tribes and increased tension between Native Americans and settlers and travelers. Both the Bannock and Nez Perce Wars began after Nez Perce became incensed at the failure of the US government to uphold treaties, and at settlers who plowed up their camas prairies, which they depended on for subsistence. Growth pattern. It is a perennial herbaceous monocot with leaves emerging from a persistent bulb in a basal rosette. Leaves, stems, and roots. The stems have a length between 30 and 90 centimetres (12 and 35 in). The leaves are basal and have a grass-like appearance. Inflorescence and fruit. The pale blue to deep blue flowers appear in late spring to early summer (May to June in their native habitat). They are arranged in a raceme at the end of the stem. Each of the radially symmetrical, star-shaped flowers has six petals. Taxonomy.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Smallflowered Camas (Camassia quamash ssp. breviflora) is a native perennial herb that grows in Central and Northern California, primarily in the Warner Mountains, the High Sierra Nevada and Modoc Plateau regions. It tends to grow in meadows and streamsides, at elevations from 4900-7200 feet.

The Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia) is a short to medium, slender, hairless, rhizomatous perennial in the bellflower family Campanulaceae. In Scotland, it is often known as the Bluebell, whereas elsewhere in Britain, "bluebell" refers to Hyacinthoides non-scripta. The species is very variable in form. It occurs as tetraploid or hexaploid populations in Britain and Ireland, but diploids occur widely in continental Europe. The root leaves are dark green, roundish, usually slightly toothed, with prominent hydathodes and may wither early or persist all season. The leaves on the flowering stems become progressively more linear and the upper ones are unstalked. The flowers usually have fivefold symmetry, although other variants are quite frequent. The flowers are usually pale blue, although white, pink and violet variants occur, 15 millimeter long, borne on long thin stalks either singly or in loose clusters. The petal lobes are short and curve outwards. The flowers are pollinated by bees (see illustration) but can self-pollinate. In common with other Campanulas, all parts of the plant exude white latex when injured or broken. The seeds are produced in a capsule about 3-4 millimeter diameter. The seeds are released by decay of the capsule wall.

Cardamine breweri is a species of cardamine known by the common name Brewer's bittercress. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to Colorado, where it grows in coniferous forests, particularly in wet bog habitats. Cardamine breweri is a perennial herb growing up to about half a meter in maximum height. The leaves are oval in shape and sometimes divided into a few smaller leaflets. The mustardlike inflorescence is a raceme of many white flowers, each with four petals half a centimeter long. The fruit is an erect silique up to 3 centimeters long containing many small seeds. Cardamine breweri is a perennial herb growing up to about half a meter in maximum height. The leaves are oval in shape and sometimes divided into a few smaller leaflets. The mustardlike inflorescence is a raceme of many white flowers, each with four petals half a centimeter long. The fruit is an erect silique up to 3 centimeters long containing many small seeds.

Cardamine occidentalis is a species of cardamine known by the common name big western bittercress. It is native to western North America from Alaska to northwestern California, where it grows in moist mountain habitats. Cardamine occidentalis is a perennial herb growing from very small rhizomes. It produces a branching erect or leaning stem which may root at nodes. There is a basal array of leaves, each on a petiole and divided into many leaflets. There are also several leaves along the stem. The flower has white petals each a few millimeters long. The fruit is a silique 2 to 3 centimeters long. Cardamine occidentalis is a perennial herb growing from very small rhizomes. It produces a branching erect or leaning stem which may root at nodes. There is a basal array of leaves, each on a petiole and divided into many leaflets. There are also several leaves along the stem. The flower has white petals each a few millimeters long. The fruit is a silique 2 to 3 centimeters long.

Cardamine pensylvanica is a species of Cardamine known by the common name Pennsylvania bittercress. It is native to most of Canada and the United States from coast to coast. It is generally found in moist to wet areas, such as the mud on riverbanks. It is a biennial herb producing one or more erect or leaning, branching stems which are purple to green in color and grow 10-70 cm (4-28 in) tall. The leaves are hairless and divided into several rounded to oval lobes, each of which has one or two lobes, with the exception of the large terminal leaflet at the tip, which generally has three. Most of the leaves are located along the stem and there is no basal rosette. The inflorescence comprises many flowers, each with four white petals a few millimeters long. The fruit is a slender silique 2-3 cm (0. 8-1. 2 in) long.

Carex abrupta is a species of sedge known by the common name abrupt-beaked sedge or abruptbeak sedge. It is native to the western United States from California to Idaho, where it grows in moist mountain habitat such as meadows. This sedge forms a dense, erect clump exceeding 20 centimeters in height. The inflorescence is a rounded cluster of spikes 1 to 2 centimeters wide. Each fruit is surrounded by a sac called a perigynium which is boat-shaped to scoop-shaped with a very narrow, cylindrical beak coppery red to dark brown in color. This sedge forms a dense, erect clump exceeding 20 centimeters in height. The inflorescence is a rounded cluster of spikes 1 to 2 centimeters wide. Each fruit is surrounded by a sac called a perigynium which is boat-shaped to scoop-shaped with a very narrow, cylindrical beak coppery red to dark brown in color.

Carex alma is a species of sedge known by the common name sturdy sedge. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it grows in moist spots in a number of habitat types. This sedge forms a thick clump of thin stems up to 90 centimeters in length and long, thready leaves. The leaves have basal sheaths with conspicuous red coloration, often spotting. The inflorescence is a dense to open cluster of many spikelets occurring both at the ends of stems and at nodes. Each cluster is up to 15 centimeters long and 1 to 2 wide. The plant is sometimes dioecious, with an individual sedge bearing either male or female flowers. The female, pistillate flowers have white or white-edged bracts. The male, staminate flowers have visible anthers 2 millimeters long or longer. The fruit is coated in a sac called a perigynium which is gold to dark brown in color and has a characteristic bit of spongy tissue at the base.

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.

Carex angustata is a species of sedge known by the common name widefruit sedge. It is native to the western United States from Washington and Idaho to California, where it grows in wet meadows and on streambanks. This sedge grows from a large rhizome network and does not form clumps as many other sedges do. The stems reach up to about a meter in maximum height with narrow, rough leaves. The flower cluster produces a few pistillate spikes and one or two staminate spikes, each a few centimeters long. The pistillate flowers have dark colored leafs. The fruit is covered in a sac called a perigynium which is 2 or 3 millimeters long, veined and bumpy, and generally green or pale brown in color, sometimes with red or purple spotting.

Carex aquatilis is a species of sedge known by the common names water sedge and leafy tussock sedge. It has a circumboreal distribution, occurring throughout the northern reaches of the Northern Hemisphere. It grows in many types of mountainous and Arctic habitat, including temperate coniferous forest, alpine meadows, tundra, and wetlands. There are several varieties of this species, and it is somewhat variable in appearance. It produces triangular stems reaching heights between 20 centimeters and 1.5 meters, and generally does not form clumps as some other sedges do. It grows from a dense rhizome network which produces a mat of fine roots thick enough to form sod, and includes aerenchyma to allow the plant to survive in low-oxygen substrates like heavy mud. The flower cluster bears a number of spikes with one leaflike leaf at the base which is longer than the flower cluster itself. The fruits are glossy achenes, and although the plant occasionally reproduces by seed, most of the time it reproduces vegetatively, spreading via its rhizome. In fact, in any given year, most shoots produce no flowers. This perennial plant lives up to 10 years or more, can form peat as its rhizome system decomposes, and is sometimes used to revegetate areas where peat has been harvested.

Water Sedge (Carex aquatilis var. aquatilis) is a native grass that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in wet places, at elevations from 0-10500 feet.

Sitka Sedge (Carex aquatilis var. dives) is a native grass that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in wet places, at elevations from 0-3500 feet.