Cyperus cuspidatusKunth

coastal plain flatsedge

WFO wfo-0000370828 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 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 cuspidatus, photographed by Justine Faure
fig. a Justine Faure, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-05-24 / obs. 200664489
Cyperus cuspidatus, photographed by bat (Maria Vorontsova)
fig. b bat (Maria Vorontsova), CC0 1.0 / obs. 187892500
Cyperus cuspidatus, photographed by Justine Faure
fig. c Justine Faure, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 200664504
Cyperus cuspidatus, photographed by bat (Maria Vorontsova)
fig. d bat (Maria Vorontsova), CC0 1.0 / obs. 187892694
Cyperus cuspidatus, photographed by Jay Horn
fig. e Jay Horn, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 157046074
Cyperus cuspidatus, photographed by Justine Faure
fig. f Justine Faure, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 200664515
Cyperus cuspidatus, photographed by bat (Maria Vorontsova)
fig. g bat (Maria Vorontsova), CC0 1.0 / obs. 187892603
Cyperus cuspidatus, photographed by Jay Horn
fig. h Jay Horn, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 157046058

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 93 botanical countries

Regions where Cyperus cuspidatus is native: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, DR Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf of Guinea Is., Ivory Coast, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, China North-Central, 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, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, South Carolina, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil West-Central, Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guyana, Honduras, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela AngolaBeninBotswanaBurkinaBurundiCentral African RepublicChadCongoDR CongoEswatiniEthiopiaGabonGambiaGhanaGuineaGuinea-BissauGulf of Guinea Is.Ivory CoastKenyaKwaZulu-NatalLiberiaMadagascarMalawiMaliMauritaniaMozambiqueNamibiaNigerNigeriaNorthern ProvincesSenegalSierra LeoneSomaliaSudan-South SudanTanzaniaTogoUgandaZambiaZimbabweChina North-CentralChina South-CentralChina SoutheastHainanTaiwanTibetAssamBangladeshBorneoCambodiaEast HimalayaIndiaJawaLaosLesser Sunda Is.MalayaMalukuMyanmarNepalPakistanPhilippinesSri LankaSulawesiSumateraThailandVietnamWest HimalayaNorthern TerritoryQueenslandWestern AustraliaAlabamaFloridaGeorgiaMexico CentralMexico GulfMexico NorthwestMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestSouth CarolinaBoliviaBrazil NorthBrazil NortheastBrazil West-CentralColombiaCubaEl SalvadorFrench GuianaGuyanaHondurasPeruSurinameVenezuela MauritiusAndaman Is.
Native distribution of Cyperus cuspidatus, 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
Central African Republic CAF
Chad CHA
Congo CON
DR Congo ZAI
Eswatini SWZ
Ethiopia ETH
Gabon GAB
Gambia GAM
Ghana GHA
Guinea GUI
Guinea-Bissau GNB
Gulf of Guinea Is. GGI
Ivory Coast IVO
Kenya KEN
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Liberia LBR
Madagascar MDG
Malawi MLW
Mali MLI
Mauritania MTN
Mauritius MAU
Mozambique MOZ
Namibia NAM
Niger NGR
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Senegal SEN
Sierra Leone SIE
Somalia SOM
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Togo TOG
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
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
Pakistan PAK
Philippines PHI
Sri Lanka SRL
Sulawesi SUL
Sumatera SUM
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
Bolivia BOL SOUTHERN AMERICA
Brazil North BZN
Brazil Northeast BZE
Brazil West-Central BZC
Colombia CLM
Cuba CUB
El Salvador ELS
French Guiana FRG
Guyana GUY
Honduras HON
Peru PER
Suriname SUR
Venezuela VEN
Alabama ALA NORTHERN AMERICA
Florida FLA
Georgia GEO
Mexico Central MXC
Mexico Gulf MXG
Mexico Northwest MXN
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mexico Southwest MXS
South Carolina SCA
China North-Central CHN ASIA-TEMPERATE
China South-Central CHC
China Southeast CHS
Hainan CHH
Taiwan TAI
Tibet CHT
Northern Territory NTA AUSTRALASIA
Queensland QLD
Western Australia WAU

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 20 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 angustifolius Buch.-Ham. ex Nees
  • Cyperus angustifolius Schumach.
  • Cyperus capitatus Retz.
  • Cyperus contractus Steud.
  • Cyperus cuspidatus f. angustifolius Kük.
  • Cyperus cuspidatus f. exiguus (Nees) Kük.
  • Cyperus cuspidatus var. burchellii C.B.Clarke
  • Cyperus exiguus Nees
  • Cyperus gratus C.B.Clarke
  • Cyperus hamatus Schrad. ex Nees
  • Cyperus hamulatus Kunth
  • Cyperus recurvatus Willd. ex Kunth
  • Cyperus recurvus Vahl
  • Cyperus salzmannii Steud.
  • Cyperus setifolius D.Don
  • Cyperus solutus Steud.
  • Cyperus uncinatus Poir.
  • Cyperus uncinatus var. gratus (C.B.Clarke) Kük.
  • Cyperus waterlotii Cherm.
  • Dichostylis cuspidata (Kunth) Palla

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.