Stem: The stem is usually triangular in cross-section, but can sometimes be round. Stems are not hollow, but are filled with pith.

Flower: Tiny individual flowers, greenish to brown, lack sepals and petals. Each consists of a single dry scale and either anthers (male flower parts) or a pistil (female flower part). The pistil is always enclosed within a specialized sac-like bract (perigynium). The flowers are arranged in compact or loose spikes at the ends of stems, with male and female flowers in separate sections of the same spike, on separate spikes, or on separate plants.

Fruit: Small brown achenes.

Root: Fibrous; sometimes rhizomatous.

Propagation: Seeds and vegetatively by rhizomes.

Importance of plant: Used by Native Americans for weaving baskets and mats. Seeds used by many birds, and browsed by deer, elk, and moose. Stabilizes shorelines.

Distribution: Worldwide, mostly temperate.

Habitat:  Moist or wet places, estuarine to freshwater systems. Some species occur in dry to semi-arid habitats.

May be confused with: Grasses, which generally have have hollow stems; rushes (Juncus), which have round stems; spike-rushes (Eleocharis), which are in the same family as sedges, but are distinguished by their  smaller, more compact flower spikes at the ends of leafless stems; and bulrush (Scirpus) which have cylindrical stems and lack the perigynium.

Photographs: Two photographs available: Carex sp., Carex sp. 

Line Drawings: Carex sp.