Water Sedge
Carex aquatilis

(c) mark-groeneveld, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by mark-groeneveld
Growing it
| When | Flowers June to July; fruits August to September |
|---|---|
| Type | sedge |
| Sun | Full sun, partial shade |
| Water | Medium, high |
| Soil | pH 5–7.5 |
| Hardiness | zone 1–7 |
| Mature height | 0.9 m |
| Mature spread | 0.675 m |
| Spacing | 0.45 m |
| Years to maturity | 2 |
| Bloom | Jun–Jul |
| Flower colour | Straw / green (grasses & sedges) wind-pollinated, so no showy flower |
| In bloom | June July |
| Fruit | Aug–Sep |
| Native to | AB, SK |
narrow linear leaves about 30 cm long
Where it has been recorded
Which ecoregions the records fall in
- Eastern Continental Ranges central AB: 71 records, high confidence
- Boreal Transition central AB / SK: 65 records, high confidence
- Aspen Parkland central AB / SK: 59 records, high confidence
- Mid-Boreal Uplands central AB / SK: 58 records, high confidence
- Northern Continental Divide south AB: 42 records, high confidence
- Western Alberta Upland central AB: 35 records, high confidence
- Athabasca Plain north AB / SK: 21 records, high confidence
- Fescue Grassland south AB: 20 records, high confidence
- Cypress Upland south AB / SK: 19 records, medium confidence
- Slave River Lowland north AB: 15 records, medium confidence
- Hay River Lowland north AB: 14 records, medium confidence
- Tazin Lake Upland north AB / SK: 13 records, medium confidence
- Churchill River Upland north SK: 12 records, medium confidence
- Peace Lowland north AB: 11 records, medium confidence
- Moist Mixed Grassland south AB / SK: 8 records, medium confidence
- Wabasca Lowland north AB: 7 records, low confidence
- Mixed Grassland south AB / SK: 5 records, low confidence
- Northern Alberta Uplands north AB: 3 records, low confidence
These are counts of records collected somewhere in the region, which is the resolution of the evidence: the map above shows where inside it. A region with 3 records is not the same claim as one with three hundred, so the count travels with the region. A region missing from this list means nobody has recorded it there, which is not the same as the plant being absent. Records within 900 m of a border count for neither side, because the border is not drawn finely enough to say which one they are on. Source: GBIF occurrence search + PRESERVED_SPECIMEN pass, retrieved 2026-08-24. Boundaries digitised from the National Ecological Framework for Canada v2.2 (Ecological Stratification Working Group 1995), simplified to about 900 m for display: an outline is accurate to roughly a kilometre, not to the metre. How these counts are made.
See every observation, live and current, on GBIF or iNaturalist.
Documented animals
2 documented relationships.
cover for
- Common Blue Damselfly Acorn
- Common Green Darner Acorn
Also worth knowing
Safety
Toxicity not assessed, absence of a warning is not a guarantee of safety
Buying it
About $8–$16 per plant (estimate), usually sold as seed or plugs. Estimate (sedge default); AB retail as of 2026