A native wetland sedge with long cylindrical flower spikes and narrow green leaves. Water Sedge spreads by rhizomes, helping form dense vegetation along shores and through wet meadows.
Water Sedge in flower. Select the photograph to browse the gallery.
Life cycle: Perennial
Family: Cyperaceae — sedges
Habitat: Marshes, shores, fens and wet meadows
Height: About 1–4 feet
Season: Spring flowers; summer fruit
Explore reported observations. Sightings are not a complete range map.
Look in sunny wet meadows, marshes, fens and along shores. Flowering plants show exposed anthers and fine stigmas; summer fruit provides more useful features for close identification.
Tussock Sedge (Carex stricta), Hayden’s Sedge (C. haydenii) and Emory’s Sedge (C. emoryi) can look similar. Compare mature fruit coverings, basal sheaths, the lowest bract and growth habit together. A flowering spike alone may not settle the identification.
The small flowers lack showy petals. Male flowers release pollen from exposed anthers; female flowers develop fruits enclosed in sacs called perigynia. In Water Sedge, mature perigynia have a very short beak and lack prominent surface veins.
Narrow leaves and three-sided stems give the plant a grasslike appearance. Check the plant base: Water Sedge has spreading rhizomes and basal sheaths that do not break into the conspicuous fibrous networks seen in some similar sedges.
8 field photographs. Select a photograph to enlarge it and browse the slideshow.
Water Sedge occurs across northern North America and other northern regions. It grows in saturated soils and shallow water, often forming colonies along wetland margins.
Observation maps show submitted records, not every place the plant occurs. Follow local access rules when visiting a site.
Compare Water Sedge with other grasses, sedges and rushes, and explore the wetlands where they grow.
Photographs: Where’s Wildlife. Identification supplied and confirmed by photographer Brian Woolman.
Minnesota Wildflowers: Water Sedge and similar species · USDA: Water Sedge plant guide
Spotted a possible identification error or have an observation to share? Leave a comment below. For an ID correction, include the photo filename and the features that support your suggestion.