Wet, usually open ground of all sorts, especially shores, river and stream margins, ditches, meadows and clearings, and depressions in or bordering forests.

One of our most abundant species, often somewhat weedy. This is a later species to flower and fruit than the similar but much less common Carex annectens, and the culms are shorter than the leaves until late in the season, when, however, they can become as long as those of C. annectens. See notes under C. annectens.

From Carex stipata, also very common and with somewhat similar inflorescences (and cross-corrugated sheaths), this can be easily separated by the hard, bluntly triangular culms, and the much smaller perigynia.