green-ribbed sedge

Carex binervis has an oceanic distribution, occurring only in areas of high rainfall, from Finland and Norway, through the British Isles, Germany, Belgium and France, to Spain and Portugal. Within the British Isles, Carex binervis has a westerly and northerly distribution, and is more abundant in Scotland, Wales and Ireland than in England. Plants from Morocco that were previously referred to C. binervis are now treated as a separate species, C. paulo-vargasii. Carex binervis grows in acidic, siliceous environments, including "damp heaths, moors, rocky places and mountainsides"; together with species such as Deschampsia flexuosa, it is a "useful indicator of acid substrate". The species has been recorded at altitudes of up to 930 metres (3,050 ft) on Glyder Fach in north Wales, and there are reports of occurrences up to 975 m (3,200 ft) in the Scottish Highlands. Although sedges are chiefly wind pollinated, insect pollinators have been observed to visit C. binervis occasionally.