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Carex lupulina

Muhl. ex Willd.

Hop Sedge

G5Secure Found in 1 roadless area NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
UnknownThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.147816
Element CodePMCYP037U0
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 houblon (FR) hop 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 Date2025-07-11
Change Date1984-02-29
Edition Date2025-07-11
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 lupulina is a wide-ranging perennial graminoid in a variety of wetland habitats, including swamp forests, bottomland forests, forest openings, wet meadows, and marshes. It occurs in eastern North America from Nova Scotia west to Ontario, Canada and Nebraska, United States south to Florida and Texas. There are over 2,000 estimated occurrences, which face threats from development, rights-of-way maintenance, hydrological alteration, invasive species, and other threats in some places. Little is known about trends, but with a large range extent and large number of occurrences, abundant habitat, and broad habitat preferences, this species is considered secure.
Range Extent Comments
Carex lupulina occurs in eastern North America from Nova Scotia west to Ontario, Canada and Nebraska, United States south to Florida and eastern Texas (FNA 2002, Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2025). Range extent was estimated to be over 5.3 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 2,000 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, rights-of-way maintenance, 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 lupulina grows in wet, deciduous or mixed swamp forests, bottomland forests, forest openings, wet meadows, and marshes (FNA 2002, Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2025).
Palustrine Habitats
HERBACEOUS WETLANDFORESTED WETLAND
Other Nations (2)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
LouisianaSNRYes
AlabamaSNRYes
West VirginiaS5Yes
KansasS3Yes
IllinoisS3Yes
ArkansasS5Yes
TexasSNRYes
OhioSNRYes
North CarolinaS5Yes
MichiganSNRYes
Rhode IslandSNRYes
MissouriSNRYes
GeorgiaSNRYes
New YorkS5Yes
MinnesotaSNRYes
IndianaS5Yes
New HampshireSNRYes
WisconsinSNRYes
DelawareS5Yes
MississippiS4Yes
NebraskaS1Yes
TennesseeSNRYes
MassachusettsSNRYes
New JerseyS5Yes
OklahomaSNRYes
KentuckyS5Yes
MaineSNRYes
South CarolinaS5Yes
MarylandSNRYes
FloridaS4Yes
VermontS4Yes
District of ColumbiaSNRYes
PennsylvaniaS5Yes
IowaS5Yes
VirginiaS4Yes
ConnecticutSNRYes
CanadaN5
ProvinceRankNative
OntarioS5Yes
QuebecS4Yes
New BrunswickS3Yes
Nova ScotiaS3Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
1 - Residential & commercial developmentUnknownUnknownUnknown
4 - Transportation & service corridorsUnknownUnknownUnknown
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)
Tennessee (1)
AreaForestAcres
Flint Mill GapCherokee National Forest9,494
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).