Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Account for Hop Sedge - Carex lupulina   Muhlenberg ex Willdenow
Members of Cyperaceae:
Members of Carex with account distribution info or public map:
Google Images
Section 5 » Order Cyperales » Family Cyperaceae
Show/Hide Synonym
AuthorMuhlenberg ex Willdenow
DistributionCoastal Plain, Sandhills, and Piedmont; scattered in the Mountains and Piedmont foothills.

N.S. and MN south to FL and TX.
AbundanceCommon throughout, except uncommon in the Mountains and foothills.
HabitatFloodplains and bottomlands, often in backup channels and where flooding is prolonged. Also in marshes and wet meadows.
PhenologyFlowering and fruiting June-August.
IdentificationIn Hop Sedge the female spikes are usually crowded, with a broadly ellipsoid or broadly cylindric shape to the spikes. Achene bodies are longer than wide (as opposed to those in C. gigantea) and lack knobs at the angles (as opposed to those in C. lupuliformis).
Taxonomic CommentsNone

The genus Carex is the largest in North America, and among the largest in the world. In temperate and boreal regions, Carex is often the dominant or co-dominant ground layer in many habitats. Seeds (achenes) are valuable food for birds and small mammals, while foliage is used by birds and mammals to make nests and as food by mammals. Species of Carex often look vastly different from one another -- spikes erect vs. drooping, tiny inflorescence vs. whopping, culms leafy vs. naked, perigynia beaked vs. beakless, stems densely bunched vs. single, etc. The genus has been divided into many sections (or groups), based on shared characters; some taxonomists have suggested that these be different genera, but that proves unworkable (so far). All Carex share the feature of a perigynium (an outer covering) which completely surrounds the achene (seed). This covering may fit tightly or loosely (like a small bladder), depending on which group or species. Details of perigynia shape, ornamentation, presence and size of beak, number of striations (or veins) are all important ID features. In recent years Rob Naczi and colleagues have stressed the importance of arrangement of perigynia -- whether spiral (3+ ranks) or distichous (2-ranked) -- and have named a number of new species as well as split off some older synonyms. Therefore, RAB's (1968) key, excellent for its time, can only be used in a general way today. Members of some sections of Carex are difficult to key out (notably Ovales, Laxiflorae, Griseae); this is in part due to variation among individuals of a species, or failings of the key. FNA has drawings of most species and some species may be found in two or more places within a key, to acount for variability. New species to NC, and new to science(!), continue to be found in NC.
Other Common Name(s)Common Hop Sedge
State RankS5
Global RankG5
State Status
US Status
USACE-agcpOBL link
USACE-empOBL link
County Map - click on a county to view source of record.
Photo Gallery
photographercommentsphoto_linkcountyobsType
B.A. SorrieForested wet place off Wadsworth Road, Piedmont, May 2015. MoorePhoto_natural
Select a source
AllHerbaria
Individual
Website
Select an occurrence type
AllCollection_naturalPhoto_natural