Cyperus amabilisVahl

foothill flatsedge

WFO wfo-0000367601 Accepted WFO 2026-06 6 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–f · 3 observations

This species has been photographed under an open licence only 3 times, so some figures below are different views of the same plant, taken on the same day, rather than different individuals. They are usually different parts of it: the leaf, the flower, the bark.

Cyperus amabilis, photographed by Neptalí Ramírez Marcial
fig. a Neptalí Ramírez Marcial, CC BY 4.0 / 2016-12-08 / obs. 8131466
Cyperus amabilis, photographed by rosshawkins
fig. b rosshawkins, CC0 1.0 / obs. 152160206
Cyperus amabilis, photographed by rosshawkins
fig. c rosshawkins, CC0 1.0 / obs. 152160284
Cyperus amabilis, photographed by Eugenio Padilla
fig. d Eugenio Padilla, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 11825215
Cyperus amabilis, photographed by Eugenio Padilla
fig. e Eugenio Padilla, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 11825214
Cyperus amabilis, photographed by Eugenio Padilla
fig. f Eugenio Padilla, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 11825213

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 71 botanical countries

Regions where Cyperus amabilis is native: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, DR Congo, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Socotra, Somalia, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, India, Myanmar, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Arizona, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Aruba, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil West-Central, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panamá, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela AngolaBeninBotswanaBurkinaBurundiCameroonCentral African RepublicChadCongoDR CongoEritreaEswatiniEthiopiaGabonGambiaGhanaGuineaGuinea-BissauIvory CoastKenyaMadagascarMalawiMaliMauritaniaMozambiqueNamibiaNigerNigeriaNorthern ProvincesSenegalSierra LeoneSomaliaSudan-South SudanTanzaniaTogoUgandaZambiaZimbabweIndiaMyanmarVietnamWest HimalayaArizonaMexico CentralMexico GulfMexico NortheastMexico NorthwestMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestBoliviaBrazil NorthBrazil West-CentralColombiaCosta RicaCubaDominican RepublicEcuadorEl SalvadorGuatemalaGuyanaHondurasNicaraguaPanamáPeruSurinameVenezuela Cape VerdeComorosArubaNetherlands Antilles
Native distribution of Cyperus amabilis, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Angola ANG AFRICA
Benin BEN
Botswana BOT
Burkina BKN
Burundi BUR
Cameroon CMN
Cape Verde CVI
Central African Republic CAF
Chad CHA
Comoros COM
Congo CON
DR Congo ZAI
Eritrea ERI
Eswatini SWZ
Ethiopia ETH
Gabon GAB
Gambia GAM
Ghana GHA
Guinea GUI
Guinea-Bissau GNB
Ivory Coast IVO
Kenya KEN
Madagascar MDG
Malawi MLW
Mali MLI
Mauritania MTN
Mozambique MOZ
Namibia NAM
Niger NGR
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Senegal SEN
Sierra Leone SIE
Socotra SOC
Somalia SOM
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Togo TOG
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Aruba ARU SOUTHERN AMERICA
Bolivia BOL
Brazil North BZN
Brazil West-Central BZC
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Cuba CUB
Dominican Republic DOM
Ecuador ECU
El Salvador ELS
Guatemala GUA
Guyana GUY
Honduras HON
Netherlands Antilles NLA
Nicaragua NIC
Panamá PAN
Peru PER
Suriname SUR
Venezuela VEN
Arizona ARI NORTHERN AMERICA
Mexico Central MXC
Mexico Gulf MXG
Mexico Northeast MXE
Mexico Northwest MXN
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mexico Southwest MXS
India IND ASIA-TROPICAL
Myanmar MYA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM

Not drawn on the map: Socotra. We hold no public-domain boundary for this region, so it is listed rather than guessed at.

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 19 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Cyperus amabilis var. amabilis
  • Cyperus amabilis var. macra C.B.Clarke
  • Cyperus amabilis var. macrostachyus (Boeckeler) Kük.
  • Cyperus amabilis var. oligostachyus (Kunth) Kük.
  • Cyperus amabilis var. subacaulis Kük.
  • Cyperus anisostachyos Willd. ex Kunth
  • Cyperus aurantiacus Kunth
  • Cyperus aureus Kunth
  • Cyperus aureus var. aurantiacus (Kunth) Boeckeler
  • Cyperus aureus var. macrostachyus Boeckeler
  • Cyperus aureus var. oligostachyus (Kunth) Boeckeler
  • Cyperus brachyphyllus Willd. ex Link
  • Cyperus glareosus Liebm.
  • Cyperus guadalajaranus M.E.Jones
  • Cyperus lepidus Hochst. ex Steud.
  • Cyperus microstachyus Vahl
  • Cyperus muelleri Boeckeler
  • Cyperus oligostachyus Kunth
  • Cyperus quitensis Spreng.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.