Blue Sedge
Carex glaucodea
Found in prairies, upland woodlands, especially in hardpan situations with alternating wet and dry conditions. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
58
Strong
Native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- Up to about 20 inches
- Light
- Partial shade, Full shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to wet
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- May to June
JFMAMJJASOND
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 3 West 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 2
Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
23CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV
Genus host records with ranges including WV · Carex
- Acronicta insularisHenry's Marsh Moth, Cattail Caterpillar
- Amolita roseolaPink Sedge Moth, Rosy Grass Moth
- Amphipoea americanaAmerican Ear Moth, American Borer
- Anatrytone loganDelaware Skipper, Logan Skipper, Black-Vein Skipper
- Apamea sordensBordered Apamea, Rustic Shoulder-Knot
- Cercyonis pegalaCommon Wood Nymph
- Ctenucha virginicaVirginia Ctenucha
- Deltote belliculaBurnished Bog Moth, Bog Deltote, Bog Lithacodia
- Euphyes bimaculaTwo-Spotted Skipper, Two-Spotted Sedge Skipper
- Euphyes vestrisDun Skipper, Dun Sedge Skipper, Sedge Witch)\
Show all 23
- 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
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Pseudeustrotia carneolaPink-Barred Lithacodia, Pink-Barred Pseudeustrotia
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Elachista cucullata
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
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Cyperaceae
- Flower color
- Not applicable
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 · “Not applicable” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 20 inches” · 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 · “Dry; Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Carex flaccosperma var. glaucodea
Conservation status
| West Virginia rank | S3 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5T5 [G5] |
| WV status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
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.
Sources
- NatureServe Explorer
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- West Virginia occurrence source
- 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