Sand Dune Sedge, Carex pansa

About Sand Dune Sedge (Carex pansa) 49 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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Dune sedge is a member of the Cyperaceae (Sedge) family native to the coast of western North America from British Columbia to California, where it grows in scattered locations on dunes and other sandy habitats. It tends to grow in wetlands or moist places. This grass-like plant produces sharply triangular stems up to about 40 centimeters (16 inches) tall from a network of thin, long, coarse rhizomes. The flowers are made up of cluster of several spikes of dark brownish flowers. The plant is often dioecious, with an individual producing either male or female flowers in its flower clusters, but not both. Carex pansa is sometimes recommended as a lawn substitute, but it requires beach sand and regular water to perform well, and it may not tolerate traffic as well as typical lawn grasses.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Grasses

Size

0.7 - 1.3 ft tall

Dormancy

Evergreen

Fragrance

None

Flower Color

Cream, Brown

Wildlife Supported

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 7 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Umber Skipper Poanes melanePoanes melane

Common Ringlet Coenonympha tulliaCoenonympha tullia

Dun Skipper Euphyes vestrisEuphyes vestris

White-lined Sphinx Hyles lineataHyles lineata

Olive Green Cutworm Moth Dargida procinctusDargida procinctus

Elachista cucullataElachista cucullata

Lesser Wainscot Mythimna oxygalaMythimna oxygala

Landscaping Information

Sun

Full Sun

Moisture

Low

Summer Irrigation

Max 1x / month once established

Nurseries

Carried by 49

Ease of Care

Moderately Easy

Cold Tolerance

Tolerates cold to 15° F

Soil Drainage

Fast, Medium

Soil Description

Prefers beach sand. Soil PH: 4.0 - 8.0

Common uses

Groundcovers, Deer Resistant

Companion Plants

Can be used with other coastal strand plants such as Verbena (Abronia sp.), Beach Evening Primrose (Camissoniopsis cheiranthifolia), Silver Beachweed (Ambrosia chamissonis), Dune Manzanita (Arctostaphylos pungens), Coast Buckwheat (Eriogonum latifolium), and California Sealavender (Limonium californicum)

Sunset Zones?

4*, 5*, 17*, 24*

Natural Setting

Site Type

Coastal strand, dunes and other sandy areas from Ventura County northward

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 12.8" - 71.6", Summer Precipitation: 0.17" - 2.14", Coldest Month: 40.4" - 54.6", Hottest Month: 57.2" - 69.2", Humidity: 0.33" - 17.59", Elevation: -253" - 2588"

Alternative Names

Common Names: Sanddune Sedge

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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links: Jepson eFlora Taxon Page CalPhotos Wikipedia Calflora

Sand Dune Sedge

Carex pansa

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Sand Dune SedgeCarex pansa

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Sand Dune Sedge

Carex pansa