Plants without conspicuous rhizomes. Culms (20-)30-100 cm, 2.5-8 mm wide basally, 0.7-1.6 mm wide distally. Leaves: sheaths usually loose, proximally green-and-white-striped, not white spotted, with conspicuous transverse veins on back, fronts hyaline, sometimes transversely rugose and red dotted, thin, white or hyaline and fragile at mouth; ligules 2-7 mm, shorter to longer than wide; widest leaf blades (3-)4-8 mm wide. Inflorescences with 5-15 spikes, 1-5 cm × 8-15 mm, occasionally compound, then somewhat larger; proximal bracts to 3 cm; spikes with 5-15 ascending to spreading perigynia; proximal internodes shorter than to 1.5 times as long as proximal spikes. Pistillate scales hyaline or brown with green, 1-3-veined center, ovate, 2.6-4.4 × 1.3-2.4 mm, body shorter to slightly longer than perigynium, apex acuminate to short-awned. Anthers 1.5-3 mm. Perigynia pale green to pale brown, veinless or 3-7(-12)-veined abaxially, rarely veined adaxially, 3.5-5.5 × 2-3 mm, body somewhat spongy, base thickened, margins serrulate distally; beak 0.6-1.6 mm, apical teeth 0.3-1 mm. Achenes circular to elliptic- circular, 1.8-2.1 × 1.6-2 mm. Fruiting late spring. Prairies, ditches, swales, open forests, usually on calcareous soils; 100-1400 m; Man., Ont., Sask.; Ark., Colo., Ill., Ind., Iowa, Kans., Ky., Mich., Minn., Mo., Mont., Nebr., N.Mex., N.C., N.Dak., Ohio, Okla., Pa., S.Dak., Tenn., Tex., Va., Wis., Wyo. Carex gravida is introduced in North Carolina.