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Great Plains flat-sedge

Cyperus lupulinus (Spreng.) Marcks

[=Cyperus filiculmis Vahl ]

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Great Plains flat-sedge
Great Plains flat-sedge
Great Plains flat-sedge inflorescence
Great Plains flat-sedge inflorescence
Great Plains flat-sedge
Great Plains flat-sedge
Great Plains flat-sedge spikelets

Morphology

Culm
Slender, wiry, 3-sided, glabrous.
Leaves
Blades folded together lengthwise or flat, 2 to 18 inches long, 1/25 to 1/7 inch wide, shorter than culm, margins rough, sometimes unrolled.
Inflorescence
Single head-like spike, sessile, dense, hemispherical to nearly spherical, 2/5 to 1 inch diam., rarely with 1 or 2 additional rays; subtending involucral bracts 2-4, spreading or deflexed
Spikelet
10-70, linear to narrowly elliptic, 1/8 to 4/5 inch long, radiate, densely congested, bases overlapping, tips pointed, 3-25-flowered; scales straw-colored to light brown or nearly white, midrib green, 7-13-nerved, nerves conspicuous, oblong, 1/12 to 1/7 inch long, midrib extending past body of scale as short point; stamens 3; style 3-cleft.
Fruit
Achene, dark brown or black, narrowly oblong, .09 to .09 inch, sharply 3-angled, shiny.

Ecology

Habitat
Well-drained, open roadsides, fields, and prairies.
Distribution
Statewide

Additional Notes

Comments

Tufted. From tuberous-thickened rhizomes.

Synonyms

Alternative scientific names that have been used for this plant.

Scientific Name: Cyperus filiculmis

Full Citation: Cyperus filiculmis Vahl

Quick Facts
Plant Type
Sedge
Family
Cyperaceae - Sedge Family
Life Span
Perennial
Height
4-28 inches
Origin
Native
Last Updated
2022-03-03
Flowering Period
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Blooms: May, June, July, August, September, October