Plant Highlights

Santa Barbara Sedge is native to California and Oregon, where it grows in wet and seasonally wet habitat, such as meadows and riverbanks. This grass-like plant grows in clumps 1' - 3' tall, and is an attractive choice for sunny, moist areas. It will do well in a container too. The tough leaves are narrow and sharp edged with shredding, red-spotted or purple basal sheaths. The inflorescence produces erect and drooping spikes up to about 5" long with an associated long bract which exceeds the length of the spikes. The fruits are covered in a sac called a perigynium which is light to dark brown and sometimes red-spotted, leathery and tough, and sometimes with a toothed, hairy tip. The plant rarely matures into a fruiting stage, however, with most individuals remaining sterile. Parts of this sedge were used in basketry and as sewing fiber by California Native American groups such as the Maidu and Pomo.