Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Poales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Cyperus hortensis
FAMILY
Cyperaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Female scales (and thus head color) are green (vs. white in C. sesquiflorus). Read more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
Frequently confused with C. brevifolius, which occurs in similar habitats. Read more in Weakley's Flora (2022)
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Kyllinga pumila
FAMILY
Cyperaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 23 (2002)
Cyperus hortensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 030-01-002:
Cyperus tenuifolius FAMILY Cyperaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Cyperus tenuifolius
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Kyllinga pumila
COMMON NAME:
Annual Greenhead Sedge, Low Spikesedge
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_kypu_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_kypu_002_lvd
)
Gill Newberry gn09_c_tenuifolium_base
September
)
Gill Newberry gn09_c_tenuifolium_inf
September
Spikes 1-3, greenish, cylindric to subglobose, sessile, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
Gill Newberry gn09_cyperis_tenuifolius
September
Usually 3 bracts, to 15cm long, 0.5-3mm wide. Leaf blades 1-3mm wide, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm190903_1228
September Greenville County SC
Lvs predominantly basal, not 3-ranked. Leafy bracts subtend the inflorescence, per Weakley's Flora.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Cyperus hortensis
FAMILY
Cyperaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Kyllinga pumila
FAMILY
Cyperaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 23
Cyperus hortensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 030-01-002:
Cyperus tenuifolius
FAMILY
Cyperaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Cyperus tenuifolius
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Kyllinga pumila
3532
Grass, Sedge, or Rush
Annual
Habitat: Moist soils of fields, ditches, lawns, shores of ponds and rivers, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Basal
RHIZOMES? STOLONS?
Cespitose [growing in dense tufts, clumping], not rhizomatous
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Heads green
Bracts usually 3, to 15cm long
Superior ovary
Bisexual
Inflorescences unbranched (the spikes sessile)
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Nutlets yellowish
Spikelet with one nutlet enclosed by two scales
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".