Bunched perennial with flowering stems 1-4 feet tall. Overlapping spikes are all alike, consisting of both male and female flowers. Male flowers, with their pale yellow stamens, are quite evident early (D) but become very inconspicuous after the perigynia develop (E). The sharply triangular, narrowly winged stems (A,C) are soft and easily compressed or bent. Broad leaf blades are up to 1/2 inch wide. Leaf sheaths are loose, the underside thin, white and usually cross-wrinkled, often breaking up at maturity (H). Mature spikes bear greenish-yellow perigynia with long, thin tapered beaks (F) which later turn a light brown color that highlights their numerous linear nerves (G).
Marshes, streams, ditches and wet woodlands. Sawbeak Sedge is rare in Fontenelle Forest along Stream Trail and adjacent to the boardwalk in Handsome Hollow. It has not been seen at Neale Woods. Flowering occurs at the end of April. The pale green to yellow perigynia turn brown by early June.
Soft Fox Sedge (Carex conjuncta) also has soft, compressible stems and cross-wrinkled sheaths, but perigynia have shorter beaks with fewer, less well-defined nerves. It has been found in moist areas only along Hidden Lake Trail. So far, it has not been found in the very wet sites along Stream Trail occupied by Sawbeak Sedge. Other species with spikes all alike and superior male flowers do not have spongy, winged stems.
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