Plants densely cespitose; rhizome internodes 1.2-2.8 mm thick. Culms yellow-brown at base, 10-50 cm. Leaves: sheaths glabrous; blades glaucous, widest blades (5.1-)5.7-10.8 mm wide, smooth abaxially or sparsely antrorsely scaberulous on main veins. Inflorescences 0.56-1 of culm height; peduncles of lateral smooth; peduncles of terminal spikes (0.5-)1.6-15(-31) mm, barely to much exceeding lateral spikes; proximal bract sheath loose, abaxially glabrous, sheath front apex truncate; ligules 5.2-10 mm; distal bract slightly shorter than to much exceeding terminal spike. Spikes 3-6, distal 2-4 overlapping; lateral spikes pistillate, longest ones with (14-)19-45(-65) perigynia, 9-32(-41) × 4.1-6.5(-7.3) mm, ratio of spike length (in mm) to flower number = (0.56-)0.67-1.1(-1.3); terminal spikes 7-35 × (1.3-)1.5-3(-3.6) mm. Pistillate scales (1.6-)2-3.2(-3.7) × 1.5-2.2(-2.5) mm, margins whitish, entire, apex awnless or with awn to 1(-1.5) mm. Staminate scales 4.3-5.2 × 1-1.8 mm. Anthers 1.8-3.6 mm. Perigynia spirally imbricate, 43-54-veined, unwrinkled, oblong-ovoid, obtusely triangular in cross section, 3.2-4(-4.1) × 1.5-2.5 mm, (1.5-)1.8-2.3(-2.5) times as long as wide, dull, base very gradually tapered, apex gradually tapered; beak absent or straight, 0-0.3 mm. Achenes obovoid, 2.4-3 × 1.3-1.6(-1.7) mm, 0.5-0.63 times as long as perigynia, loosely enveloped by perigynia; stipe straight 0.05-0.3(-0.4) mm; beak bent (0-)30-90°, 0.2-0.4 mm. Fruiting spring-early summer. Mesic to wet-mesic deciduous forests or seasonally moist prairies, usually in clays or loams; 10-1900 m; Ont.; Ala., Ark., Conn., Del., D.C., Ill., Ind., Ky., La., Md., Mass., Miss., Mo., N.H., N.J., N.Y., N.C., Ohio, Okla., Pa., Tenn., Tex., Vt., Va., W.Va. Carex glaucodea is frequent. In the southern portions of its range, it occasionally grows with and hybridizes with C. flaccosperma (see discussion under 298. C. flaccosperma).