Cyperus blepharoleptosSteud.

Cuban bulrush

WFO wfo-0000368711 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 6 observations

This species has been photographed under an open licence only 6 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 blepharoleptos, photographed by National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project
fig. a National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project, CC BY 4.0 / 2021-08-17 / obs. 166648959
Cyperus blepharoleptos, photographed by Tyler Bishop
fig. b Tyler Bishop, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 78827180
Cyperus blepharoleptos, photographed by Annika Lindqvist
fig. c Annika Lindqvist, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 11514880
Cyperus blepharoleptos, photographed by National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project
fig. d National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 166648720
Cyperus blepharoleptos, photographed by Robert Taylor
fig. e Robert Taylor, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 44541241
Cyperus blepharoleptos, photographed by Scott Ward
fig. f Scott Ward, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 131699359
Cyperus blepharoleptos, photographed by Scott Ward
fig. g Scott Ward, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 117234774
Cyperus blepharoleptos, photographed by Robert Taylor
fig. h Robert Taylor, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 44541273

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 58 botanical countries

Regions where Cyperus blepharoleptos is native: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, DR Congo, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Texas, Argentina Northeast, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil West-Central, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Trinidad-Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela AngolaBeninBotswanaBurkinaCentral African RepublicChadCongoDR CongoGhanaGuinea-BissauKenyaKwaZulu-NatalMadagascarMalawiMaliMauritaniaNamibiaNigerNigeriaRwandaSenegalSudan-South SudanTanzaniaTogoUgandaZambiaZimbabweAlabamaFloridaLouisianaMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestTexasArgentina NortheastBelizeBoliviaBrazil NorthBrazil West-CentralColombiaCosta RicaCubaDominican RepublicEcuadorEl SalvadorFrench GuianaGuatemalaGuyanaHondurasJamaicaNicaraguaPanamáParaguayPeruPuerto RicoSurinameTrinidad-TobagoUruguayVenezuela
Native distribution of Cyperus blepharoleptos, 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.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Angola ANG AFRICA
Benin BEN
Botswana BOT
Burkina BKN
Central African Republic CAF
Chad CHA
Congo CON
DR Congo ZAI
Ghana GHA
Guinea-Bissau GNB
Kenya KEN
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Madagascar MDG
Malawi MLW
Mali MLI
Mauritania MTN
Namibia NAM
Niger NGR
Nigeria NGA
Rwanda RWA
Senegal SEN
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Togo TOG
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Argentina Northeast AGE SOUTHERN AMERICA
Belize BLZ
Bolivia BOL
Brazil North BZN
Brazil West-Central BZC
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Cuba CUB
Dominican Republic DOM
Ecuador ECU
El Salvador ELS
French Guiana FRG
Guatemala GUA
Guyana GUY
Honduras HON
Jamaica JAM
Nicaragua NIC
Panamá PAN
Paraguay PAR
Peru PER
Puerto Rico PUE
Suriname SUR
Trinidad-Tobago TRT
Uruguay URU
Venezuela VEN
Alabama ALA NORTHERN AMERICA
Florida FLA
Louisiana LOU
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mexico Southwest MXS
Texas TEX

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 27 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.

  • Anosporum ablepharum (Griseb.) Maury ex Micheli
  • Anosporum cubense (Poepp. & Kunth) Boeckeler
  • Anosporum cubense var. gracile Boeckeler
  • Anosporum paraguayense Maury
  • Anosporum piliferum Maury
  • Anosporum schinzii Boeckeler
  • Courtoisia olivacea Boeckeler
  • Crepidocarpus cubensis (Poepp. & Kunth) Klotzsch ex Boeckeler
  • Crepidocarpus schinzii Klotzsch ex Boeckeler
  • Isolepis echinocephala Oliv.
  • Kyllinga scirpina Rchb. ex C.B.Clarke
  • Mariscus foliosissimus Steud.
  • Oxycaryum cubense (Poepp. & Kunth) Palla
  • Oxycaryum cubense f. paraguayense (Maury) Pedersen
  • Oxycaryum guianense Palla
  • Oxycaryum paraguayense (Maury) Palla
  • Oxycaryum piliferum (Maury) Palla
  • Oxycaryum schinzii (Boeckeler) Palla
  • Oxycaryum schomburgkianum Nees
  • Pseudomariscus olivaceus (Boeckeler) Rauschert
  • Scirpus ablepharus Griseb.
  • Scirpus cubensis Poepp. & Kunth
  • Scirpus cubensis var. gracilis (Boeckeler) Beetle
  • Scirpus cubensis var. minor C.Wright

and 3 more.

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. USDA PLANTS Database. common name, checklist symbol OXCU2. public domain. 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.