Slender Woodland Sedge
Carex digitalis
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 53%
- Height
- Up to about 20 inches
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
Not yet recorded · Spread · Light · Soil · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 92 Virginia counties.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 76 animals.
- Common NighthawkChordeiles minor
- Common RavenCorvus corax
- Cooper's HawkAccipiter cooperii
- Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis
- Double-crested CormorantPhalacrocorax auritus
- Downy WoodpeckerPicoides pubescens
- Eastern BluebirdSialia sialis
- Eastern KingbirdTyrannus tyrannus
- Eastern Screech-owlMegascops asio
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Fox SparrowPasserella iliaca
- Golden-crowned KingletRegulus satrapa
- Golden-winged WarblerVermivora chrysoptera
- Gray CatbirdDumetella carolinensis
- Great Horned OwlBubo virginianus
- Hairy WoodpeckerPicoides villosus
- Hermit ThrushCatharus guttatus
- Hooded MerganserLophodytes cucullatus
- Long-eared OwlAsio otus
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
- Northern FlickerColaptes auratus
- Northern MockingbirdMimus polyglottos
- Northern Saw-whet OwlAegolius acadicus
- OspreyPandion haliaetus
Who uses this plant?
31CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Carex
- Acronicta insularisHenry's Marsh Moth, Cattail Caterpillar
- Amolita roseolaPink Sedge Moth, Rosy Grass Moth
- Amphipoea americanaAmerican Ear Moth, American Borer
- Amphipoea interoceanicaStrawberry Cutworm, Interoceanic Ear Moth
- Anatrytone loganDelaware Skipper, Logan Skipper, Black-Vein Skipper
- Apamea indocilisIgnorant Apamea
- Apamea sordensBordered Apamea, Rustic Shoulder-Knot
- Cercyonis pegalaCommon Wood Nymph
- Deltote belliculaBurnished Bog Moth, Bog Deltote, Bog Lithacodia
- Euphyes bimaculaTwo-Spotted Skipper, Two-Spotted Sedge Skipper
Show all 31
- Euphyes dionDion Skipper, Sedge Skipper
- Euphyes dukesiDukes' Skipper
- Euphyes vestrisDun Skipper, Dun Sedge Skipper, Sedge Witch)\
- Helotropha reniformisAmerican Crescent Borer, Reniform Celaena, Reniform Helotropha
- Hesperia leonardusLeonard's Skipper, Blazing Star Skipper, Pawnee Prairie Skipper, Pawnee Montane Skipper
- Lethe appalachiaAppalachian Brown, Appalachian Eyed Brown
- Leucania phragmitidicolaNeedle Wainscot, Phragmites Wainscot
- Limochores mysticLong Dash
- Loscopia velataVeiled Ear Moth, Veiled Grass Moth
- Macrochilo absorptalisSlant-Lined Owlet; Slant-Lined Fan-foot
- Maliattha synochitisBlack-Dotted Lithacodia, Black-Dotted Glyph, Brass-Dotted Grass Moth
- Meropleon diversicolorMulticolored Sedgeminer
- Mythimna oxygalaLesser Wainscot
- Neonympha mitchelliiMitchell's Satyr
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Plusia putnamiPutnam's Looper Moth, Lempke's Gold Spot
- Poanes viatorBroad-Winged Skipper
- Pseudeustrotia carneolaPink-Barred Lithacodia, Pink-Barred Pseudeustrotia
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Cosmopterix clemensella
- 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
- White, green or brown
What its natural habitat tells you
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Flower color · “White, green or brown” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 20 inches” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S5 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| VA 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
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- 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

























