Pointed Broom Sedge

Carex scoparia

Found in swamps; freshwater marshes; cliffs, ledges and rocky summits; roadsides, fields and disturbed ground. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

Strong

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

Profile 100%

Height: About 2.5 feet
Light: Full to part sun
Soil moisture: Average to wet

Will it fit your yard?

Carex scoparia photograph — (c) aarongunnar, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 · Original photograph

At a glance

Bloom: May to June
Fruiting season: Summer

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Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves

Recorded in 74 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

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

1 of 4

Named place / source context. Shown: Great Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, as titled by Museum of Fine Arts Boston; nineteenth-century artistic interpretation, a neighboring state.View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, Regis Francois Gignoux, 1850. Public domain. Source record.

Rock outcrop on a mountain summit. Shown: Sassafras Mountain, on the North Carolina and South Carolina line, a neighboring state.Sassafras Mountain rock outcrop, Alan M. Cressler / U.S. Geological Survey, undated. Public domain. Source record. Faithful JPEG display decode of embedded JP2; no AI or color enhancement. Phone derivative resized proportionally.

Freshwater marshes

Open, herb-covered wetlands with fresh, non-tidal water.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 131 animals.

Black-capped Chickadee
Poecile atricapillus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Black-crowned Night-heron
Nycticorax nycticorax
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Blue Grosbeak
Passerina caerulea
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Polioptila caerulea
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Broad-winged Hawk
Buteo platypterus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Brown Creeper
Certhia americana
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Brown Thrasher
Toxostoma rufum
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Brown-headed Cowbird
Molothrus ater
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Canada Warbler
Wilsonia canadensis
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Canvasback
Aythya valisineria
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Cerulean Warbler
Dendroica cerulea
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Dendroica pensylvanica
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Chipping Sparrow
Spizella passerina
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Dark-eyed Junco
Junco hyemalis
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Double-crested Cormorant
Phalacrocorax auritus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Eastern Phoebe
Sayornis phoebe
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Eastern Screech-owl
Megascops asio
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Eastern Wood-pewee
Contopus virens
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Eurasian Collared-dove
Streptopelia decaocto
Birds. 1 shared habitat
European Starling
Sturnus vulgaris
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Fish Crow
Corvus ossifragus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Hairy Woodpecker
Picoides villosus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Hermit Thrush
Catharus guttatus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Horned Grebe
Podiceps auritus
Birds. 1 shared habitat

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

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

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

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

Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Cyperaceae
Flower color: Green
Growth rate: Moderate
Growth habit: Grows in clumps
Foliage color: Green
Fruit begins: Summer
Fruit ends: Summer

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, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ) · Carolinas and Georgia
Flower color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
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 · “Summer” · 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 2.5 feet” · USDA PLANTS (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Light · “Full to part sun” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
Soil · “wet to medium” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading

Also known as

Broom Sedge

Conservation status

Virginia rank	S5
Global rank	G5
VA status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

Will it fit your yard?

Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.

Choose a county to begin.

How to check your spot

Growing cautions

Spreads slowly. Spreads slowly by re-seeding. Tennessee Smart Yards

For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.

Pointed Broom Sedge

At a glance

Natural habitats

Also found with this plant

Who uses this plant?

Plant details

Conservation status

Will it fit your yard?

Growing cautions

Sources

More Carex