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Pennsylvania Sedge

Carex pensylvanica

Found in dry to moist woodlands and forests, grassy balds, shale barrens, rock outcrops. 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 100%

Height
1–8 inches
Spread
1–12 inches
Light
Dappled sunlight, Deep shade, Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Dry to moist

Space about 1 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 100 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
Spring
Fruiting season
Summer

Not yet recorded · Leaves

Recorded in 20 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 5

Dry forests and woodlands

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

Forests and woodlands

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

Mountain balds

Treeless grassy or shrubby summits and ridges in the high mountains.

Shale barrens

Steep, sun-baked slopes of loose shale with sparse oaks and Virginia pine and their own endemic wildflowers. Linked only where the source names shale barrens; calcareous shale stays with the limestone glades.

Cliffs, ledges and rocky summits

Cliffs, ledges, rock outcrops, talus and rocky summits where the source does not name the rock. A named rock files the place under its own glade or outcrop type instead.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 89 animals.

Widespread birds also seen here (48)

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.

Show all 28
Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab)

Direct food only. 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

Birds that eat Carex 28

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Cyperaceae
Hardiness
Zones 3a–8b
Soil pH
Acidic to neutral
Flower color
Brown/copper, cream, green or white
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 · “Spring” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs)
  • Flower color · “Brown/copper, cream, green or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Fruit begins · “Summer” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox · Species profile fruit display season; not a local ripening date
  • Fruit ends · “Summer” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox · Species profile fruit display season; not a local ripening date
  • Hardiness · “Zones 3a–8b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Height · “1–8 inches” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
  • Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Light · “Dappled sunlight (shade through upper canopy all day); Deep shade (less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight); Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
  • Soil · “Good drainage; Moist; Occasionally dry; Occasionally wet; Very dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; NC Extension Plant Toolbox, Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
  • Soil pH · “Acidic to neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Spread · “1–12 inches” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox

Conservation status

West Virginia rankS5
Global rankG5
WV statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Growing cautions

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

Sources