This short, cool season sedge prefers to be in rich, loamy soils in part shade. It possesses an interesting drooping seedhead that would make it a good candidate for a home landscape. Bobwhite quail are known to eat its seeds. It associates with Allium canadense, Cares blanda, Geranium maculataum, and Phlox divaricata, and tends to be found naturally in high quality woodlands.