Carex diandraSchrank

lesser panicled sedgelesser tussock-sedge

WFO wfo-0000346001 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Carex diandra, photographed by Игорь Васильев
fig. a Игорь Васильев, CC BY 4.0 / 2021-07-02 / obs. 180583880

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 92 botanical countries

Regions where Carex diandra is native: Altay, Inner Mongolia, Iran, Japan, Kamchatka, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Krasnoyarsk, Kuril Is., Mongolia, North Caucasus, Primorye, Sakhalin, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, West Siberia, Yakutiya, East Himalaya, West Himalaya, New Zealand North, Austria, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Central European Russia, Czechia-Slovakia, Denmark, East European Russia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, North European Russia, Northwest European Russia, Norway, NW. Balkan Pen., Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, Alaska, Alberta, Arizona, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Labrador, Maine, Manitoba, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Newfoundland, North Dakota, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ohio, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Prince Edward I., Québec, Rhode I., Saskatchewan, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Yukon AltayInner MongoliaIranJapanKamchatkaKazakhstanKirgizstanKrasnoyarskMongoliaNorth CaucasusPrimoryeSakhalinTranscaucasusTürkiyeTurkmenistanUzbekistanWest SiberiaYakutiyaEast HimalayaWest HimalayaNew Zealand NorthAustriaBaltic StatesBelarusBelgiumCentral European RussiaCzechia-SlovakiaDenmarkEast European RussiaFinlandFranceGermanyHungaryIcelandIrelandItalyNetherlandsNorth European RussiaNorthwest European RussiaNorwayNW. Balkan Pen.PolandRomaniaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandUkraineAlaskaAlbertaArizonaBritish ColumbiaCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutIllinoisIndianaIowaLabradorMaineManitobaMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMontanaNebraskaNew BrunswickNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNewfoundlandNorth DakotaNorthwest TerritoriesNova ScotiaNunavutOhioOntarioOregonPennsylvaniaPrince Edward I.QuébecSaskatchewanUtahVermontWashingtonWisconsinWyomingYukon Rhode I.
Native distribution of Carex diandra, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Alaska ASK NORTHERN AMERICA
Alberta ABT
Arizona ARI
British Columbia BRC
California CAL
Colorado COL
Connecticut CNT
Illinois ILL
Indiana INI
Iowa IOW
Labrador LAB
Maine MAI
Manitoba MAN
Maryland MRY
Massachusetts MAS
Michigan MIC
Minnesota MIN
Montana MNT
Nebraska NEB
New Brunswick NBR
New Hampshire NWH
New Jersey NWJ
New Mexico NWM
New York NWY
Newfoundland NFL
North Dakota NDA
Northwest Territories NWT
Nova Scotia NSC
Nunavut NUN
Ohio OHI
Ontario ONT
Oregon ORE
Pennsylvania PEN
Prince Edward I. PEI
Québec QUE
Rhode I. RHO
Saskatchewan SAS
Utah UTA
Vermont VER
Washington WAS
Wisconsin WIS
Wyoming WYO
Yukon YUK
Austria AUT EUROPE
Baltic States BLT
Belarus BLR
Belgium BGM
Central European Russia RUC
Czechia-Slovakia CZE
Denmark DEN
East European Russia RUE
Finland FIN
France FRA
Germany GER
Great Britain GRB
Hungary HUN
Iceland ICE
Ireland IRE
Italy ITA
Netherlands NET
North European Russia RUN
Northwest European Russia RUW
Norway NOR
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Poland POL
Romania ROM
Spain SPA
Sweden SWE
Switzerland SWI
Ukraine UKR
Altay ALT ASIA-TEMPERATE
Inner Mongolia CHI
Iran IRN
Japan JAP
Kamchatka KAM
Kazakhstan KAZ
Kirgizstan KGZ
Krasnoyarsk KRA
Kuril Is. KUR
Mongolia MON
North Caucasus NCS
Primorye PRM
Sakhalin SAK
Transcaucasus TCS
Türkiye TUR
Turkmenistan TKM
Uzbekistan UZB
West Siberia WSB
Yakutiya YAK
East Himalaya EHM ASIA-TROPICAL
West Himalaya WHM
New Zealand North NZN AUSTRALASIA

Not drawn on the map: Kuril Is., Great Britain. We hold no public-domain boundary for these regions, so they are listed rather than guessed at.

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Where it actually grows measured, from 526 observations

Condition 5th percentile Median 95th percentile
Coldest month, mean daily low -24.2 °C -11.8 °C -4.1 °C
Warmest month, mean daily high 17.6 °C 22.9 °C 26.1 °C
Annual rainfall 455 mm 880 mm 1,478 mm
Rainfall in the driest quarter 49 mm 145 mm 306 mm

It is found where winters are severely cold. This is not care advice and it is not a forecast. It is a measurement: we sampled the climate at every one of the 526 research-grade observations of Carex diandra that carry a coordinate, and this is the range those places actually span. The 5th and 95th percentiles are used rather than the minimum and maximum, because a single cultivated specimen in a heated conservatory should not widen a tropical plant's range to the Arctic.

This is not a hardiness zone. A USDA zone is the average annual extreme minimum temperature. The figure above is the mean daily minimum of the coldest month, which is a different quantity and is typically far warmer. Reading one as the other would place a plant several zones too warm, so we do not publish a hardiness zone, because we do not have one.

Also published as 29 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Carex bernardina Parish
  • Carex diandra f. conguesta Lekav.
  • Carex diandra f. longibracteata Chwast.
  • Carex diandra f. major (W.D.J.Koch) Kük.
  • Carex diandra f. tenella (C.L.Beckm.) Kük.
  • Carex diandra var. ampla (L.H.Bailey) Kük.
  • Carex diandra var. ramosa (Boott) Fernald
  • Carex ehrhartiana Hoppe ex Boott
  • Carex fulva Thuill.
  • Carex paniculata var. diandra (Schrank) Fiori
  • Carex paniculata var. minor Retz.
  • Carex paniculata var. teretiuscula (Gooden.) Wahlenb.
  • Carex paradoxa subsp. pseudoparadoxa (S.Gibson) K.Richt.
  • Carex paradoxa subsp. teretiuscula (Gooden.) Wahlenb.
  • Carex paradoxa var. pseudoparadoxa (S.Gibson) Nyman
  • Carex pseudoparadoxa S.Gibson
  • Carex teretiuscula Gooden.
  • Carex teretiuscula f. simplicior Sanio
  • Carex teretiuscula var. ampla L.H.Bailey
  • Carex teretiuscula var. crassior Hartm.
  • Carex teretiuscula var. ehrhartiana (Hoppe ex Boott) Nyman
  • Carex teretiuscula var. major W.D.J.Koch
  • Carex teretiuscula var. nana Gaudin
  • Carex teretiuscula var. ramosa Boott

and 5 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.