A grass-like plant of moist to wet soils. Stems three-angled in cross-section, rough to the touch, with 1-3 grass-like leaves about a foot long. Each stem ends in 1-4 clusters (called spikelets) of female flowers and a single spikelet of male flowers at the top. Below the spikelets there are leaf-like bracts, longer than the spikelets. Female spikelet looks somewhat like a pine cone with yellow green flowers turning brownish in fruit, each with a long spine. The lowest one often nods (dangles) as in the picture below. Male spikelet narrow, dark reddish brown.

An interesting-looking native of wet places. Common in Wildwood in the entrance wetland and in wetter sections along Connelly's Run.

One of the few sedges that are relatively easily recognized on sight by its yellow-green spiky female spikelets. Bottlebrush sedge (C. hystericina) is similar, but the female spikelets nod on their stalks more than those of yellow green sedge, and are also smaller. A few other species are similar but have not yet been reported from Wildwood.