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Carex lacustris

Willd.

Lake-bank Sedge

G5Secure Found in 1 roadless area NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
UnknownThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.130802
Element CodePMCYP036W0
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassMonocotyledoneae
OrderCyperales
FamilyCyperaceae
GenusCarex
Other Common Names
Carex lacustre (FR) hairy sedge (EN) Lake Sedge (EN)
Concept Reference
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.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2025-07-10
Change Date1984-02-29
Edition Date2025-07-10
Edition AuthorsSoteropoulos (2025)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Carex lacustris is a wide-ranging perennial graminoid found in a variety of open wetland habitats, including swamps, thickets, marsh edges, sedge meadows, fens, shores of streams, ponds and lakes, and tidal marshes. It occurs in North America from Newfoundland Island and Nova Scotia west to British Columbia, Canada south to Virginia west to Kansas and Montana west to Washington in the United States. There are over 1,000 estimated occurrences, which face threats from development, grazing, oil sands mining, rights-of-way maintenance, recreational activities, hydrological alteration, and invasive species. Little is known about trends, but with a large range extent and large number of occurrences, this species is considered secure.
Range Extent Comments
Carex lacustris occurs in North America from Newfoundland Island and Nova Scotia west to British Columbia, Canada south to Virginia west to Kansas and Montana west to Washington (FNA 2002). Range extent was estimated to be over 6 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).
Occurrences Comments
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 1,000 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2025, iNaturalist 2025, NatureServe 2025, RARECAT 2025, SEINet 2025).
Threat Impact Comments
Although threats are not widely documented, this species is threatened by development, grazing, oil sands mining, rights-of-way maintenance, recreational activities (especially off-road vehicles), hydrological alteration, 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.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Carex lacustris grows in "open swamps, wet, open thickets, marsh edges, sedge meadows, fens, shores of streams, ponds and lakes," and freshwater to oligohaline tidal marshes (FNA 2002, Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2025).
Palustrine Habitats
HERBACEOUS WETLANDSCRUB-SHRUB WETLANDFORESTED WETLANDRiparian
Other Nations (2)
CanadaN5
ProvinceRankNative
QuebecS4Yes
AlbertaS4Yes
New BrunswickS4Yes
SaskatchewanS4Yes
Island of NewfoundlandS1Yes
ManitobaS5Yes
OntarioS5Yes
Nova ScotiaS4Yes
British ColumbiaS3Yes
Prince Edward IslandS4Yes
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
MarylandS2Yes
IdahoS1Yes
South DakotaS4Yes
MichiganSNRYes
MaineSNRYes
District of ColumbiaSHYes
IowaS4Yes
MissouriS2Yes
PennsylvaniaS5Yes
ConnecticutSNRYes
North DakotaSNRYes
New JerseyS4Yes
VermontS5Yes
WisconsinSNRYes
WashingtonSNRYes
West VirginiaS2Yes
New YorkS5Yes
New HampshireSNRYes
TennesseeS1Yes
OhioSNRYes
MontanaS1Yes
NebraskaSNRYes
IndianaS3Yes
IllinoisS3Yes
KansasSNRYes
DelawareS1Yes
MassachusettsSNRYes
Rhode IslandSNRYes
MinnesotaSNRYes
VirginiaS1Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
1 - Residential & commercial developmentUnknownUnknownUnknown
2 - Agriculture & aquacultureUnknownUnknownUnknown
2.3 - Livestock farming & ranchingUnknownUnknownUnknown
3 - Energy production & miningUnknownUnknownUnknown
3.1 - Oil & gas drillingUnknownUnknownUnknown
4 - Transportation & service corridorsUnknownUnknownUnknown
6 - Human intrusions & disturbanceUnknownUnknownUnknown
6.1 - Recreational activitiesUnknownUnknownUnknown
7 - Natural system modificationsUnknownUnknownUnknown
7.2 - Dams & water management/useUnknownUnknownUnknown
8 - Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseasesUnknownUnknownUnknown
8.1 - Invasive non-native/alien species/diseasesUnknownUnknownUnknown
8.1.1 - Unspecified speciesUnknownUnknownUnknown

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Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (1)
Wisconsin (1)
AreaForestAcres
09154 - St. Peters DomeChequamegon-Nicolet National Forest4,002
References (8)
  1. 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.
  2. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2025. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2025).
  3. iNaturalist. 2025. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2025).
  4. 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.
  5. NatureServe. 2025. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
  6. <p>NatureServe's Rapid Analysis of Rarity and Endangerment Conservation Assessment Tool (RARECAT). 2025. Version: 2.1.1 (released April 04, 2025).</p>
  7. Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2025. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2025).
  8. 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).