Longstalk Sedge

Carex pedunculata

Found in nutrient-rich dry to moist forests, usually over calcareous or mafic rocks. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

Strong

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

Profile 94%

Height: Up to about 1 foot
Light: Partial shade, Full shade, Full sun
Soil moisture: Dry to moist

Will it fit your yard?

Carex pedunculata — whole photograph — Cheryl Mayer, Black Hills National Forest · Public domain · Original photograph

At a glance

Life cycle: Perennial
Bloom: April to May

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Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

County records are not available.

Natural habitats

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

1 of 2

Harvey Joiner, Woods Scene: tall beeches in a moist Kentucky woodland, light falling through a closed canopy onto a damp forest floor. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Kentucky beech woods (Harvey Joiner, Louisville painter of Kentucky beech forests; the painting does not name the site), a neighboring state.Woods Scene, Harvey Joiner, c. 1880-1920. Public domain. Source record.

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 76 animals.

Olive-sided Flycatcher
Contopus cooperi
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Prothonotary Warbler
Protonotaria citrea
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Sitta canadensis
Birds. 1 shared habitat
White-winged Crossbill
Loxia leucoptera
Birds. 1 shared habitat

Widespread birds also seen here (38)

Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.

All wildlife of West Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

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

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

28BirdsRecorded eating Carex in West Virginia

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