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Fragile sheath sedge

Carex fracta

Also called Fragile Sheathed Sedge

Fragile sheath sedge
Photo: Trevor Van Loon, CC BY 4.0

Carex fracta is a native sedge of western North America, forming dense clumps of grass-like stems that can exceed a meter tall. It is grown in naturalistic and meadow-style plantings, and it tolerates a range of moisture conditions once established.

Family
Cyperaceae (Cyper family)
Grows as
Grass
Light
Part shade, Full sun
Water
Water regularly while establishing, then reduce to occasional watering once established.
Soil
Well-drained garden soil, loam or sandy loam.
Temperature
Hardy in cool temperate climates; protect from prolonged hard frost in pots.
How easy
Easy
Native range
W. U.S.A. to Mexico (N. Baja California)
Climate
temperate

About

Carex fracta is a species of sedge known by the common name fragile sheath sedge. It is native to the western United States from Washington to California, where it grows in moist to dry areas in mountain forests and meadows. This sedge produces dense clumps of stems sometimes exceeding a meter tall. The leaves are attached to the stem with a characteristic thin, membranous sheath. The inflorescence is a dense or loose cluster of light green to gold spikes. Some spikes occur lower on the stem as well. The flowers are covered in light colored scales.

Other Carex plants

Carex abitibiana · Indian Valley sedge · Abruptbeak sedge · Thicket sedge · Small Dusky Sedge · Seoul Sedge · Acid Loving Sedge · Carex acocksii · Slender Tufted-sedge · Carex acutata · Lesser pond sedge · Circumpolar sedge

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Carex fracta by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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