Carex livida is a species of sedge known by the common names livid sedge and pale sedge. It has a scattered, interrupted circumboreal distribution, occurring throughout much of Eurasia and northern North America. It also occurs in Panama and South America. It is extirpated in California. This plant grows in wet substrates with groundwater at the surface. The soils are often calcareous and rich in nitrogen. It can typically be found in fens and bogs with sphagnum mosses and other sedges.