Home/Species/ Parasol Sedge

Carex umbellata

Schkuhr ex Willd.

Parasol Sedge

G5Secure Found in 1 roadless area NatureServe Explorer →

G5SecureGlobal Rank

UnknownThreat Impact

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.1347723

Element CodePMCYP03NB0

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryVascular Plant

Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations

KingdomPlantae

PhylumAnthophyta

ClassMonocotyledoneae

OrderCyperales

FamilyCyperaceae

GenusCarex

Other Common Names

Carex en Ombelle (FR) Umbellate Sedge (EN)

Concept Reference

Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2002b. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 23. Magnoliophyta: Commelinidae (in part): Cyperaceae. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxiv + 608 pp.

Taxonomic Comments

This record is for the broad treatment of Carex umbellata, including C. microrhyncha and C. abdita as indistinct, as recognized by Crins and Rettig in FNA (2002, vol. 23) and Weakley et al. (2025). Weakley et al. note, "Molecular data (unpublished) indicate that C. microrhyncha is deeply embedded within C. umbellata. This group is receiving critical study by D.B. Poindexter."

Conservation Status

Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2

Review Date2025-03-21

Change Date2025-03-21

Edition Date2025-03-21

Edition AuthorsEberly (2025)

Threat ImpactUnknown

Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)

Number of Occurrences> 300

Rank Reasons

Carex umbellata is a wide ranging perennial sedge that occurs in Greenland, eastern and central Canada (as far west as Alberta), and United States. With a large range extent, more than 500 occurrences, and relatively broad habitat preferences, this species is considered secure.

Range Extent Comments

Carex umbellata occurs in Greenland, eastern and central Canada (as far west as Alberta), and United States (as far west as Kansas and Nebraska) (FNA 2002, Weakley and Southeastern Flora Team 2025). There are contradictory reports of this species from British Columbia and Oregon (FNA 2002) which were excluded from factor calculations until their identification is confirmed. Range extent was estimated using herbarium specimens collected between 1994 and 2025 (RARECAT 2024, GBIF 2025, SEINet 2025).

Occurrences Comments

By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium records documented between 1994 and 2025, it is estimated that there are 500 occurrences rangewide (RARECAT 2024, GBIF 2025, SEINet 2025).

Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

This species grows in a variety of dry to mesic habitats with low vegetation cover and relatively open canopies, and with circumneutral to calcareous (sometimes on serpentine and basalt), clayey, sandy, and rocky substrates of fields, pastures, mowed areas, tall-grass prairies, glades, ridges, slopes, bluffs, dunes, barrens, open deciduous and mixed woodlands at elevations of 30-100 m (FNA 2002, Weakley and Southeastern Flora Team 2025).

Terrestrial Habitats

Woodland - HardwoodWoodland - MixedGrassland/herbaceousOld fieldSand/duneBarrensCliff

Other Nations (2)

CanadaN5

Province	Rank	Native
Island of Newfoundland	S2	Yes
Labrador	S2	Yes
Manitoba	S4	Yes
New Brunswick	S4	Yes
Saskatchewan	SNR	Yes
Alberta	S4	Yes
Quebec	S4	Yes
Ontario	S5	Yes
Nova Scotia	S4	Yes

United StatesN5

Province	Rank	Native
Tennessee	SNR	Yes
Arkansas	S5	Yes
Kentucky	S5	Yes
Iowa	S1	Yes
West Virginia	S5	Yes
Nebraska	S1	Yes
Maryland	S4	Yes
Minnesota	SNR	Yes
Ohio	SNR	Yes
New York	S5	Yes
Pennsylvania	S5	Yes
Mississippi	S5	Yes
Georgia	S3	Yes
Rhode Island	S2	Yes
Kansas	S3	Yes
North Carolina	S1	Yes
Alabama	SNR	Yes
Maine	SNR	Yes
Michigan	SNR	Yes
Delaware	S5	Yes
Vermont	SU	Yes
South Carolina	SNR	Yes
New Hampshire	S1	Yes
New Jersey	S4	Yes
Massachusetts	SNR	Yes
Illinois	SNR	Yes
Missouri	SNR	Yes
District of Columbia	SNR	Yes
Virginia	S5	Yes
Connecticut	SNR	Yes
Texas	SNR	Yes
Oklahoma	SNR	Yes
Wisconsin	SNR	Yes
Indiana	S4	Yes

Threat Assessments

Threat	Scope	Severity	Timing
Unknown/undetermined	—	—	—

Plant Characteristics

DurationPERENNIAL

Economic Value (Genus)No

Roadless Areas (1)

Arkansas (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
East Fork	Ozark-St. Francis National Forest	13,037

References (7)

Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2002b. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 23. Magnoliophyta: Commelinidae (in part): Cyperaceae. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxiv + 608 pp.
Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2025. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2025).
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Kartesz, J.T. 1999. A synonymized checklist and atlas with biological attributes for the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. First edition. In: Kartesz, J.T., and C.A. Meacham. Synthesis of the North American Flora, Version 1.0. North Carolina Botanical Garden, Chapel Hill, N.C.
NatureServe's Rapid Analysis of Rarity and Endangerment Conservation Assessment Tool (RARECAT). 2024. Version: 1.1.1 (released Oct 01, 2024).
Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2025. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2025).
Weakley, A.S., and Southeastern Flora Team. 2025. Flora of the southeastern United States Web App. Edition of February 18, 2025. University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Online. Available: https://fsus.ncbg.unc.edu (accessed 2025).

Carex umbellata

Habitat

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