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Sheep sedge

Carex illota

Also called Small Headed Sedge, Smallhead Sedge

Sheep sedge
Photo: Hurd, E.G., N.L. Shaw, J. Mastrogiuseppe, L.C. Smithman, and S. Goodrich., Public domain

Sheep sedge (Carex illota) is a small native sedge of western North America that forms dense clumps in wet ground such as marshes and mountain meadows. It does best with consistently moist soil and sun to part shade.

Family
Cyperaceae (Cyper family)
Grows as
Grass
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Keep the soil consistently moist, especially in its growing season.
Soil
Moist, fertile soil or wet-meadow loam.
Temperature
Hardy to cold winters in its native temperate range; protect container plants from hard freezes.
How easy
Easy
Native range
SW. Canada to W. U.S.A. and NC. New Mexico
Climate
temperate

About

Carex illota is a species of sedge known by the common name sheep sedge. It is native to western North America, where it grows in wet places such as marshes and mountain meadows, from New Mexico and California north to Western Canada.

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 illota 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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