Cyperus compactusRetz.

WFO wfo-0000369738 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY / CC BY-SA

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 compactus, photographed by Ong Jyh Seng
fig. a Ong Jyh Seng, CC BY-SA 4.0 / 2022-03-01 / obs. 181173159
Cyperus compactus, photographed by Jacy Chen
fig. b Jacy Chen, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 104416006
Cyperus compactus, photographed by Ong Jyh Seng
fig. c Ong Jyh Seng, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 89521800
Cyperus compactus, photographed by Oleg Kosterin
fig. d Oleg Kosterin, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 107707513
Cyperus compactus, photographed by Franz Anthony
fig. e Franz Anthony, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 60122883
Cyperus compactus, photographed by Eugene Popov
fig. f Eugene Popov, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 135016161
Cyperus compactus, photographed by Jacy Chen
fig. g Jacy Chen, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 104416017
Cyperus compactus, photographed by Oleg Kosterin
fig. h Oleg Kosterin, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 107707505

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 32 botanical countries

Regions where Cyperus compactus is native: Madagascar, China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Taiwan, Tibet, Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Borneo, Cambodia, East Himalaya, India, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Nicobar Is., Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam, Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia MadagascarChina South-CentralChina SoutheastHainanTaiwanTibetAssamBangladeshBorneoCambodiaEast HimalayaIndiaJawaLaosLesser Sunda Is.MalayaMalukuMyanmarNepalNew GuineaPakistanPhilippinesSri LankaSulawesiSumateraThailandVietnamNorthern TerritoryQueenslandWestern Australia Andaman Is.Nicobar Is.
Native distribution of Cyperus compactus, 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
Andaman Is. AND ASIA-TROPICAL
Assam ASS
Bangladesh BAN
Borneo BOR
Cambodia CBD
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Jawa JAW
Laos LAO
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
Malaya MLY
Maluku MOL
Myanmar MYA
Nepal NEP
New Guinea NWG
Nicobar Is. NCB
Pakistan PAK
Philippines PHI
Sri Lanka SRL
Sulawesi SUL
Sumatera SUM
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
China South-Central CHC ASIA-TEMPERATE
China Southeast CHS
Hainan CHH
Taiwan TAI
Tibet CHT
Northern Territory NTA AUSTRALASIA
Queensland QLD
Western Australia WAU
Madagascar MDG AFRICA

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 24 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 compactus f. decolorans Kük.
  • Cyperus compactus var. macrostachys (Boeckeler) Kük.
  • Cyperus compactus var. pauciflorus (H.Pfeiff.) Kük.
  • Cyperus congestus Poir.
  • Cyperus cuadriflorus Llanos
  • Cyperus dilutus Vahl
  • Cyperus dilutus var. macrostachys Boeckeler
  • Cyperus grabowskianus Boeckeler
  • Cyperus haenkeanus Kunth
  • Cyperus luzonensis J.Presl & C.Presl
  • Cyperus rufus Nees ex Kunth
  • Cyperus septatus Steud.
  • Cyperus spinulosus Roxb.
  • Duval-jouvea diluta (Vahl) Palla
  • Mariscus compactus (Retz.) Bold.
  • Mariscus compactus (Retz.) Druce
  • Mariscus compactus var. macrostachys (Boeckeler) F.C.How
  • Mariscus compactus var. macrostachys (Boeckeler) H.B.Naithani & S.Biswas
  • Mariscus dilutus Nees
  • Mariscus giganteus Boeckeler
  • Mariscus grabowskianus (Boeckeler) Merr.
  • Mariscus microcephalus J.Presl & C.Presl
  • Mariscus microcephalus var. pauciflorus H.Pfeiff.
  • Sphaeromariscus microcephalus (J.Presl & C.Presl) E.G.Camus

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. 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.