This distinctive northeastern species occurs mostly in Appalachian regions and around the Great Lakes. Disjunct southwestern records, as far as the Ouachitas, are mostly old and obscure (FNA 23, K). In Ky. it is among the few strongly rhizomatous sedge species, and it is largely restricted to damp acid soils on fresh sandy alluvium along small streams or in nearby seeps. C. prasina has similar range and habitat, but grows in more stabilized vegetation and is strictly cespitose.