Southern Waxy Sedge
Carex glaucescens
Found in blackwater swamps, pocosins, wet pine savannas, seepage bogs, depression ponds, pondcypress savannas, other acid and peaty situations. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- About 4.9 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Moist to standing water
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- May to June
- Fruiting season
- Summer to fall
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 33 Florida counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Dense evergreen shrub wetlands and bay forests on wet, acid peat of the Coastal Plain.
Open, fire-kept longleaf pine stands over grasses and wildflowers on wet to moist sandy soil.
Open, wet, seepage-fed bogs of the Coastal Plain and Sandhills, often with pitcher plants.
Depression ponds and limesinks
Shallow ponds in Coastal Plain depressions, such as limesinks and the ponds in some Carolina bays, that rise and fall with the seasons.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 120 animals.
- Spotted SandpiperActitis macularius
- Swainson's WarblerLimnothlypis swainsonii
- Swamp SparrowMelospiza georgiana
- White-throated SparrowZonotrichia albicollis
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
- Wood StorkMycteria americana
- Black VultureCoragyps atratus
- Chimney SwiftChaetura pelagica
- Glossy IbisPlegadis falcinellus
- Indigo BuntingPasserina cyanea
- Kentucky WarblerOporornis formosus
- Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscus
- Mottled DuckAnas fulvigula
- Northern PintailAnas acuta
- Orchard OrioleIcterus spurius
- OvenbirdSeiurus aurocapilla
- Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
- Red-headed WoodpeckerMelanerpes erythrocephalus
- RedheadAythya americana
- Tree SwallowTachycineta bicolor
- White-breasted NuthatchSitta carolinensis
- White-eyed VireoVireo griseus
- White-winged DoveZenaida asiatica
- Wood ThrushHylocichla mustelina
Who uses this plant?
18CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Carex
- Acronicta insularisHenry's Marsh Moth, Cattail Caterpillar
- Amolita roseolaPink Sedge Moth, Rosy Grass Moth
- Anatrytone loganDelaware Skipper, Logan Skipper, Black-Vein Skipper
- Cercyonis pegalaCommon Wood Nymph
- Deltote belliculaBurnished Bog Moth, Bog Deltote, Bog Lithacodia
- Euphyes berryiBerry's Skipper
- Euphyes dionDion Skipper, Sedge Skipper
- Euphyes dukesiDukes' Skipper
- Euphyes vestrisDun Skipper, Dun Sedge Skipper, Sedge Witch)\
- Lethe appalachiaAppalachian Brown, Appalachian Eyed Brown
Show all 18
- Leucania phragmitidicolaNeedle Wainscot, Phragmites Wainscot
- Maliattha synochitisBlack-Dotted Lithacodia, Black-Dotted Glyph, Brass-Dotted Grass Moth
- Neonympha areolataGeorgia Satyr, Helicta Satyr
- Poanes viatorBroad-Winged Skipper
- Pseudeustrotia carneolaPink-Barred Lithacodia, Pink-Barred Pseudeustrotia
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Cosmopterix ebriola
- Donacaula dispersella
1BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Carex
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
50BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Carex
- Acanthis flammeaCommon Redpoll
- Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
- Ammospiza leconteiiLeConte's Sparrow
- Anas acutaNorthern Pintail
- Anas creccaGreen-winged Teal
- Anas platyrhynchosMallard
- Anas rubripesAmerican Black Duck
- Anser albifronsGreater White-fronted Goose
- Anser caerulescensSnow Goose
- Anser rossiiRoss's Goose
Show all 50
- Anthus rubescensAmerican Pipit
- Anthus spragueiiSprague's Pipit
- Bonasa umbellusRuffed Grouse
- Branta canadensisCanada Goose
- Calcarius lapponicusLapland Longspur
- Calcarius ornatusChestnut-collared Longspur
- Calcarius pictusSmith's Longspur
- Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
- Cardinalis cardinalisNorthern Cardinal
- Centrocercus urophasianusGreater Sage-Grouse
- Colinus virginianusNorthern Bobwhite
- Cygnus buccinatorTrumpeter Swan
- Cygnus columbianusTundra Swan
- Dendragapus obscurusDusky Grouse
- Falcipennis canadensisSpruce Grouse
- Fulica americanaAmerican Coot
- Haemorhous mexicanusHouse Finch
- Junco hyemalisDark-eyed Junco
- Lagopus lagopusWillow Ptarmigan
- Lagopus leucuraWhite-tailed Ptarmigan
- Lagopus mutaRock Ptarmigan
- Leucosticte atrataBlack Rosy-Finch
- Mareca americanaAmerican Wigeon
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
- Melospiza melodiaSong Sparrow
- Molothrus aterBrown-headed Cowbird
- Pheucticus ludovicianusRose-breasted Grosbeak
- Pinicola enucleatorPine Grosbeak
- Pipilo maculatusSpotted Towhee
- Plectrophenax nivalisSnow Bunting
- Pooecetes gramineusVesper Sparrow
- Porzana carolinaSora
- Rallus limicolaVirginia Rail
- Rhynchophanes mccowniiMcCown's Longspur
- Spatula discorsBlue-winged Teal
- Spinus psaltriaLesser Goldfinch
- Spizella passerinaChipping Sparrow
- Spizelloides arboreaAmerican Tree Sparrow
- Zonotrichia atricapillaGolden-crowned Sparrow
- Zonotrichia leucophrysWhite-crowned Sparrow
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Cyperaceae
- Soil pH
- Acidic
- Flower color
- Green
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Growth habit
- Grows in clumps
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Summer
- Fruit ends
- Fall
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “May to June” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Green” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit ends · “Fall” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Grows in clumps” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Height · “About 4.9 feet” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Frequent standing water; Moist” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Acidic” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Blue Sedge
Conservation status
| Florida rank | S4 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G4 [G5] |
| FL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Atlas of Florida Plants
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications