Carex roanensis is a species of sedge known by the common name Roan Mountain sedge. It is native to North America, where it can be found in the southern Appalachian Mountains.[1] It was first collected on Roan Mountain in Tennessee in 1936.[2] It was not collected again for fifty years.[3] Now it is known from Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.[1]
This plant forms small clumps of stems up to 85 centimeters tall. The stem bases and leaf sheaths are tinged maroon. The leaf blades are hairy. The inflorescence contains a terminal spike and two to three lateral spikes. There has been some question as to whether this plant is a true species, or perhaps a hybrid.[3] [4] Genetic analysis confirms that it is a species in its own right.[5]
This plant grows in forests at moderate or higher elevations, sometimes in wooded areas but more often in the open.[1] It is associated with beech and birch species.[3] It may grow alongside the similar Carex species C. aestivalis and C. virescens.[1]