Pinebarren Sedge
Carex turgescens
Found in sandhill seepage bogs, streamhead pocosins, pocosin-sandhill ecotones, canebrakes, cypress domes and stringers, in highly acidic, sandy-peaty soils. 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 94%
- Height
- Up to about 5 feet
- Light
- Partial shade, Full shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Moist to standing water

At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- May to June
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 9 Florida counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Open, wet, seepage-fed bogs of the Coastal Plain and Sandhills, often with pitcher plants.
Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.
Dense evergreen shrub wetlands and bay forests on wet, acid peat of the Coastal Plain.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 93 animals.
- Cooper's HawkAccipiter cooperii
- Double-crested CormorantPhalacrocorax auritus
- Downy WoodpeckerPicoides pubescens
- Eastern KingbirdTyrannus tyrannus
- Eastern Screech-owlMegascops asio
- Eastern TowheePipilo erythrophthalmus
- Eastern Wood-peweeContopus virens
- Eurasian Collared-doveStreptopelia decaocto
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Fish CrowCorvus ossifragus
- Glossy IbisPlegadis falcinellus
- Golden-crowned KingletRegulus satrapa
- Great Crested FlycatcherMyiarchus crinitus
- Great EgretArdea alba
- Great Horned OwlBubo virginianus
- Green HeronButorides virescens
- Hairy WoodpeckerPicoides villosus
- Hermit ThrushCatharus guttatus
- Hooded MerganserLophodytes cucullatus
- Hooded WarblerWilsonia citrina
- Least FlycatcherEmpidonax minimus
- Lesser ScaupAythya affinis
- LimpkinAramus guarauna
- Little Blue HeronEgretta caerulea
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
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
- Flower color
- Green or brown
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 · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Green or brown” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 5 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Partial shade; Full shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Moist; Water; Wet (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Conservation status
| Florida rank | S3? |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G4G5 |
| 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

























