Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Poales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Cyperus brevifolioides
FAMILY
Cyperaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Pasture Flatsedge grows in small colonies from slender horizontal rhizomes. Stems stand erect, up to a foot tall, topped by a soiltary, pale green, hemispherical or spherical head. In the field plants look pale gray-green or glaucescent. It is a rather handsome plant. Frequently mislabeled or misidentified as C. brevifolius. Most reliable ID character is achene length: usually >1.6 mm vs. <1.4 mm in C. brevifolius. Read more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Kyllinga gracillima
FAMILY
Cyperaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Cyperus brevifolioides
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 23 (2002)
Kyllinga gracillima
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Kyllinga gracillima
SYNONYMOUS WITH The genera of Cyperaceae in the southeastern United States (Tucker, 1987)
Kyllinga brevifolioides
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 030-01-042X:
Cyperus brevifolioides FAMILY Cyperaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Cyperus brevifolius
COMMON NAME:
Asiatic Greenhead Sedge, Pasture Flatsedge
NameThatPlant has no pictures at this time. You might try this link: Flora of the Southeastern United States
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Cyperus brevifolioides
FAMILY
Cyperaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Kyllinga gracillima
FAMILY
Cyperaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Cyperus brevifolioides
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 23
Kyllinga gracillima
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Kyllinga gracillima
SYNONYMOUS WITH
The genera of Cyperaceae in the southeastern United States (Tucker, 1987)
Kyllinga brevifolioides
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 030-01-042X:
Cyperus brevifolioides
FAMILY
Cyperaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Cyperus brevifolius
4666
Grass, Sedge, or Rush
Perennial
Habitat: River sand bars, tidal marshes, tidal shores, moist soils of pastures and ditches, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: east Asia, apparently
Uncommon in NC Mountains (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Basal
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Heads pale green
Bracts 3-4, to 20cm (-30) long
2-3 stamens
Superior ovary
Bisexual
Inflorescences unbranched (the spikes sessile)
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall?
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".