Cyperus cyperoides(L.) Kuntze

Pacific island flatsedge

WFO wfo-0000370984 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Cyperus cyperoides, photographed by Shaun Swanepoel
fig. a Shaun Swanepoel, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-06-05 / obs. 203577562

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 95 botanical countries

Regions where Cyperus cyperoides is native: Angola, Ascension, Benin, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf of Guinea Is., Ivory Coast, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Rodrigues, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Socotra, St.Helena, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Japan, Kazan-retto, Korea, Nansei-shoto, Ogasawara-shoto, Taiwan, Tibet, Assam, Bangladesh, Bismarck Archipelago, Borneo, Cambodia, East Himalaya, India, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Nicobar Is., Pakistan, Philippines, Solomon Is., South China Sea, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, New South Wales, Queensland, Cook Is., Easter Is., Marianas, Niue, Samoa, Society Is., Tuamotu, Tubuai Is., Vanuatu, Wallis-Futuna Is. AngolaBeninBurkinaBurundiCameroonCentral African RepublicChadCongoDR CongoEquatorial GuineaEritreaEswatiniEthiopiaGabonGambiaGhanaGuineaGuinea-BissauGulf of Guinea Is.Ivory CoastKenyaKwaZulu-NatalLiberiaMadagascarMalawiMaliMozambiqueNamibiaNigeriaNorthern ProvincesRwandaSenegalSierra LeoneSudan-South SudanTanzaniaTogoUgandaZambiaZimbabweChina North-CentralChina South-CentralChina SoutheastHainanJapanTaiwanTibetAssamBangladeshBismarck ArchipelagoBorneoCambodiaEast HimalayaIndiaJawaLaosLesser Sunda Is.MalayaMalukuMyanmarNepalNew GuineaPakistanPhilippinesSolomon Is.Sri LankaSulawesiSumateraThailandVietnamWest HimalayaNew South WalesQueensland AscensionCape VerdeComorosMauritiusRodriguesSt.HelenaKoreaNansei-shotoNicobar Is.South China SeaCook Is.MarianasNiueSamoaSociety Is.TuamotuTubuai Is.VanuatuWallis-Futuna Is.
Native distribution of Cyperus cyperoides, 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
Ascension ASC
Benin BEN
Burkina BKN
Burundi BUR
Cameroon CMN
Cape Verde CVI
Central African Republic CAF
Chad CHA
Comoros COM
Congo CON
DR Congo ZAI
Equatorial Guinea EQG
Eritrea ERI
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
Mauritius MAU
Mozambique MOZ
Namibia NAM
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Rodrigues ROD
Rwanda RWA
Senegal SEN
Sierra Leone SIE
Socotra SOC
St.Helena STH
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Togo TOG
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Assam ASS ASIA-TROPICAL
Bangladesh BAN
Bismarck Archipelago BIS
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
Solomon Is. SOL
South China Sea SCS
Sri Lanka SRL
Sulawesi SUL
Sumatera SUM
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
China North-Central CHN ASIA-TEMPERATE
China South-Central CHC
China Southeast CHS
Hainan CHH
Japan JAP
Kazan-retto KZN
Korea KOR
Nansei-shoto NNS
Ogasawara-shoto OGA
Taiwan TAI
Tibet CHT
Cook Is. COO PACIFIC
Easter Is. EAS
Marianas MRN
Niue NUE
Samoa SAM
Society Is. SCI
Tuamotu TUA
Tubuai Is. TUB
Vanuatu VAN
Wallis-Futuna Is. WAL
New South Wales NSW AUSTRALASIA
Queensland QLD

Not drawn on the map: Socotra, Kazan-retto, Ogasawara-shoto, Easter Is.. We hold no public-domain boundary for these regions, so they are 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.

Flowering 61 in flower of 96 examined

Proportion of examined Cyperus cyperoides in flower, by month
Month In flower Examined Share 95% interval
Jan 3 7 43% 16% to 75%
Feb 0 1 too few examined
Mar 3 7 43% 16% to 75%
Apr 11 14 79% 52% to 92%
May 12 19 63% 41% to 81%
Jun 6 8 75% 41% to 93%
Jul 3 7 43% 16% to 75%
Aug 6 9 67% 35% to 88%
Sep 4 4 too few examined
Oct 6 7 86% 49% to 97%
Nov 5 9 56% 27% to 81%
Dec 2 4 too few examined

Peak flowering in Oct. Each bar is the share of Cyperus cyperoides observations in which someone actually recorded the reproductive state and found the plant in flower, not the raw number of flowering records. That distinction matters: people observe plants far more in spring than in winter, so a bare count of flowering records partly measures when people go outside. Dividing by the number examined removes that. 61 of 96 examined observations were in flower, every one of them research grade. The whisker on each bar is a 95% Wilson interval. 3 months have fewer than 5 examined observations, so no proportion is drawn for them. This is still a global aggregate and not a forecast for your garden: the same species flowers on different dates in different hemispheres. Where a species has fewer than 30 flowering records we do not draw this chart at all. Computed from 10.15468/dl.cgje2x.

Also published as 79 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 biglumis C.B.Clarke
  • Cyperus corynephorus Lock
  • Cyperus cylindrostachys var. subcompositus (C.B.Clarke) Skottsb.
  • Cyperus cylindrostachyus var. subcompositus (C.B.Clarke) Skottsb.
  • Cyperus cyperoides Britton
  • Cyperus cyperoides subsp. cyperoides
  • Cyperus cyperoides subsp. flavus Lye
  • Cyperus cyperoides var. aureus Peter ex Kük.
  • Cyperus cyperoides var. brevispicatus Kük.
  • Cyperus cyperoides var. clarkei (Turrill ex Craib) Kük.
  • Cyperus cyperoides var. evolutior (C.B.Clarke) Kük.
  • Cyperus cyperoides var. khasianus (C.B.Clarke) Kük.
  • Cyperus cyperoides var. microstachys Kük.
  • Cyperus cyperoides var. nossibeensis (Steud.) Kük.
  • Cyperus cyperoides var. ovalis Kük.
  • Cyperus cyperoides var. polyphyllus Kük.
  • Cyperus cyperoides var. repens Kük.
  • Cyperus cyperoides var. subcompositus (C.B.Clarke) Kük.
  • Cyperus flexifolius Boeckeler ex Reinecke
  • Cyperus konkanensis T.Cooke
  • Cyperus linctus G.Forst.
  • Cyperus macrocarpus var. humbertii (Cherm.) Kük.
  • Cyperus macrocarpus var. submacrocarpus Kük.
  • Cyperus manilensis Boeckeler ex Warb.

and 55 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. 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.