Carex brunâtre

Carex brunnescens subsp. alaskana Kalela; C. brunnescens subsp. pacifica Kalela; C. brunnescens subsp. vitilis (Fries) Kalela; C. canescens Linnaeus var. alpicola Wahlenberg; C. canescens var. persoonii (Sieber) H. Christ; C. gebhardii Hoppe; C. gracilis Ehrhart; C. persoonii Sieber; C. vitilis Fries

Culms erect or, sometimes, nodding, slender, 15–60 cm. Leaves mid green to yellowish or gray-green, (1–)1.5–2.5 mm wide. Inflorescences erect or, sometimes, nodding, 1.5–5(–7) cm; proximal spikes 0.5–2.5 cm apart; terminal spike ellipsoid to subclavate. Perigynia 2–2.5 × 1–1.5 mm. 2n = 56.

Fruiting May–Jul. Damp, temporarily dry areas, thin-peated mires, thickets, woodlands, heaths, rocky slopes; 0–3500 m; Greenland; St. Pierre and Miquelon; Alta., B.C., Man., N.B., Nfld. and Labr., N.W.T., N.S., Ont., P.E.I., Que., Sask., Yukon; Calif., Colo., Conn., Del., Ga., Idaho, Ind., Maine, Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., Mont., N.H., N.J., N.Y., N.C., Ohio, Oreg., Pa., R.I., Tenn., Utah, Vt., Va., Wash., W.Va., Wis., Wyo.

The mostly northern and western North America, Carex brunnescens subsp. brunnescens grades to subsp. sphaeostachya in the southeastern United States.