Big Head Sedge Seeds (Carex macrocephala)

Found in coastal dune settings across the northern Pacific (from the Russian far east to Oregon), big head sedge is an excitingly odd graminoid. Yes, it’s 6 to 10-inch leaves are typically sedge-like, and yes, it is rhizomatous like many sedge species, able to form loose colonies of connected plants.

But, the seed heads of this plant are something else entirely – large, (pine-cone sized!), copper-colored, and decked-out in numerous sharp-awned seeds. (This is a painful plant to step on with bare feet at the beach, trust us). The wildly large seed heads make this an exceptional showy plant, vastly more interesting than any big box nursery ornamental grass.

Big head sedge needs little water, but craves full sun, and sandy substrates for satisfactory growth. (In sand it also forms the best rhizomatous colonies). Wind, salt spray, and saline soils are not bothersome in the slightest to this plant, which typically shows up along the front dunes of coastal areas where the sand is least stable, providing the first bulwark of vegetation against the sea. In Japan, along with the close relative, Carex kobomugi, the fibers of big head sedge were historically used in the production of ink brushes. 

Few sedges in North America are this unique in their fruiting stage, and yet this plant gets scant attention in Pacific Northwest native plant landscaping, despite its greatness for dune stabilization and coastal gardens. Consider beach pea and coastal gumweed as companions.

50+ Seeds (1.5 grams).