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Pictured: Carex rariflora — the species. This variety isn’t separately illustrated.
Cyperaceae family

Looseflower Alpine Sedge (var. rariflora) Carex rariflora var. rariflora variety

Native

Looseflower Alpine Sedge (var. rariflora) is a perennial grass native to Alaska, Canada, and Greenland.

More about this plant

Carex rariflora, the looseflower alpine sedge, is a species of plant in the sedge family. It is found in the United States in Alaska and Maine, and in Canada in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. In these regions, it is ranked as an obligate hydrophyte in establishing wetland areas. It prefers wet environments such as open bogs, meadows, seepage slopes, and low-elevation heath tundra. This perennial grass, which can be up to 3 feet tall, has fibrous roots, and holds all perennial organs underground. The leaves are alternate, long, narrow, and simple, with parallel veins. They grow in dense clusters, and the dead leaves are found at the base of the plant. The plant blooms and fruits in the summer. All flowers are monoecious and unisexual, producing a spike inflorescence. All inflorescences are subtended by shorter, proximal bracts. Wikipedia →

Growing & care

USDA PLANTS · TRY
Conditions
Sources · Conditions
Cold hardiness (derived) — Hardiness
Hardiness
≥ zone 7 derived from its U.S. range
Size & form
Sources · Size & form
USDA PLANTS — Lifespan
Lifespan
Perennial
In the garden
Herb layer — Sits in the herb of a layered food forest or polyculture.Open guide →
derived roles
Species characteristics from USDA PLANTS (public domain) + TRY (CC BY) — general guidance, not a guarantee for your exact site. Deer "browsing" is documented palatability, not a deer-proof claim.

Wildlife & pollinators

How pollinator value is scored →
❧ Caterpillar hosts ~36 caterpillar species

Carex supports ~36 caterpillar species.

Native butterfly & moth caterpillars are the base of the terrestrial food web — most songbirds rear their young almost entirely on them. As a host for native Lepidoptera this is a strong genus.

Keystone count (genus-level) from Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use records. Named species (a documented Nearctic sample, not exhaustive) from NHM HOSTS (CC0).
Species thumbnails re-hosted from iNaturalist — Creative Commons, credited per image (hover for credit). Click any species to see it on iNaturalist. Not exhaustive; many taxa have no openly-licensed photo yet.
Sources for this entry (12) Open & cited
[01] Scientific name & family — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[02] Growth habit & duration — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[03] Native status & distribution — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[04] Common name — USDA PLANTS (via GBIF)
[05] Invasive / introduced status — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503) — native status
[06] Description — Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
[07] Ecological value — Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[08] Cold hardiness (derived) — Derived from U.S. range × USDA PHZM zones
[10] Caterpillar host count — Warren II 2026 (Dryad, CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[11] Caterpillar species — NHM HOSTS (CC0)
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