Carex trichocarpa

Carex trichocarpa is a wide-ranging perennial graminoid found in a variety of wetland habitat types, including fens, bottomlands, marshes, wet meadows, wet thickets along streams and rivers, and wet prairies along streams. It occurs in eastern North America from Quebec and Ontario, Canada, south to western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and Missouri in the United States. There are over 300 estimated occurrences, which face threats from development, conversion to agriculture or pasture, grazing and trampling by livestock, rights-of-way maintenance, logging, recreational activities, hydrological alteration, fire suppression leading to succession, invasive species, and other threats in some places. Little is known about trends, but with a large range extent and large number of occurrences, this species is considered secure.

Carex trichocarpa occurs in eastern North America from Quebec and Ontario, Canada, south to western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and Missouri in the United States (FNA 2002, Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2025). Range extent was estimated to be approximately 2.2 million square kilometers using herbarium specimens, photo-based observations, and NatureServe Network occurrence data documented between 1994 and 2025 (GBIF 2025, iNaturalist 2025, NatureServe 2025, RARECAT 2025, SEINet 2025).

By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium specimens, photo-based observations, and NatureServe Network occurrence data documented between 1994 and 2025, it is estimated that there are over 300 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2025, iNaturalist 2025, NatureServe 2025, RARECAT 2025, SEINet 2025).

In the southeastern portion of this species's range, it is highly threatened by land-use conversion, habitat fragmentation, sedimentation, and to a lesser extent by forest management practices (Southern Appalachian Species Viability Project 2002). Rangewide threats include development, conversion to agriculture or pasture, grazing and trampling by livestock, rights-of-way maintenance, recreational activities (especially off-road vehicles), hydrological alteration, fire suppression leading to succession, invasive species, and other threats in some places, though there is insufficient data, including anecdotal accounts, to understand scope and severity of threats for this species (NatureServe 2025). However, their overall impact is likely negligible given the species' broad range and large number of occurrences.