Carex rupestris, called the curly sedge and rock sedge (names it shares with other members of its genus), is a species of flowering plant in the family Cyperaceae, native to temperate and subarctic North America, Greenland, Iceland, Europe, and Asia.

Aerial shoots ascend from the rhizome, with dead leaves persisting for several years and giving the stands a typical straw-yellow colour, recognizable at a distance.

It favours dry ground, heathland, talus slopes, and rocky outcrops and ledges.

[3] The following subspecies are currently accepted:[2] Carex rupestris is considered an endangered species across the Carpathian Mountains due to the effect of climate change.

[2] In North America, as of November 2024[update], NatureServe listed C. rupestris as Globally Secure (G5).