This sedge is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to Wyoming, where it grows in wet habitat such as bogs and mountain meadows.

Carex luzulina produces loose to dense clumps of rhizomed stems approaching 90 centimeters in maximum height. The inflorescence is made up of a few spikes of flowers with dark colored scales. The fruit is coated in a sac called a perigynium which is generally greenish with some dark purple coloration.

• Carex luzulina var. ablata
• Carex luzulina var. atropurpurea
• Carex luzulina var. luzulina

• Luzula - "Woodrush"
• Luzula comosa
• Luzula divaricata
• Luzula orestera

• Calflora Database: Carex luzulina (wood rush sedge)
• Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of Carex luzulina and varieties
• USDA Plants Profile: Carex luzulina
• Flora of North America
• UC Photos gallery — Carex luzulina