Sharp-scale Sedge

Carex oxylepis

Found in bottomlands, calcareous forests. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

Strong

Native to Mississippi. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 94%

Height: Up to about 32 inches
Light: Partial shade, Full shade, Full sun
Soil moisture: Dry to wet

Will it fit your yard?

Carex oxylepis photograph — (c) Michael J. Papay, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 · Original photograph

At a glance

Life cycle: Perennial
Bloom: March to June

JFMAMJJASOND

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 39 Mississippi counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 2

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

Forests and woodlands

Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Mississippi. Shared habitat, not food. 84 animals.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Archilochus colubris
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Rusty Blackbird
Euphagus carolinus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Seaside Sparrow
Ammodramus maritimus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Swainson's Warbler
Limnothlypis swainsonii
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Tree Swallow
Tachycineta bicolor
Birds. 1 shared habitat
White Ibis
Eudocimus albus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
White-eyed Vireo
Vireo griseus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
White-winged Dove
Zenaida asiatica
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Wilson's Plover
Charadrius wilsonia
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Wilson's Warbler
Wilsonia pusilla
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Wood Stork
Mycteria americana
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Yellow-throated Warbler
Dendroica dominica
Birds. 1 shared habitat

Widespread birds also seen here (43)

Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.

All wildlife of Mississippi

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

21CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including MS

Genus host records with ranges including MS · 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 dionDion Skipper, Sedge Skipper
Euphyes dukesiDukes' Skipper
Euphyes vestrisDun Skipper, Dun Sedge Skipper, Sedge Witch)\
Hesperia leonardusLeonard's Skipper, Blazing Star Skipper, Pawnee Prairie Skipper, Pawnee Montane Skipper
Lethe appalachiaAppalachian Brown, Appalachian Eyed Brown

Show all 21

Leucania phragmitidicolaNeedle Wainscot, Phragmites Wainscot
Maliattha synochitisBlack-Dotted Lithacodia, Black-Dotted Glyph, Brass-Dotted Grass Moth
Neonympha areolataGeorgia Satyr, Helicta Satyr
Neonympha mitchelliiMitchell's Satyr
Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
Poanes viatorBroad-Winged Skipper
Pseudeustrotia carneolaPink-Barred Lithacodia, Pink-Barred Pseudeustrotia
Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
Cosmopterix ebriola
Donacaula dispersella
Elachista cucullata

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

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

26BirdsRecorded eating Carex in Mississippi

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Mississippi, most records first.