Cyperus difformisL.

Smallflower Umbrella Sedgevariable flatsedge

WFO wfo-0000371697 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Cyperus difformis, photographed by Kevin Faccenda
fig. a Kevin Faccenda, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-06-01 / obs. 204008597

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 122 botanical countries

Regions where Cyperus difformis is native: Angola, Azores, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, Caprivi Strip, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Free State, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf of Guinea Is., Ivory Coast, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Réunion, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Socotra, Somalia, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Inner Mongolia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kazan-retto, Kirgizstan, Korea, Lebanon-Syria, Manchuria, Nansei-shoto, Ogasawara-shoto, Oman, Palestine, Primorye, Tadzhikistan, Taiwan, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, Uzbekistan, Xinjiang, Yemen, Andaman Is., Bangladesh, East Himalaya, India, Jawa, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Nicobar Is., Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, New South Wales, Norfolk Is., Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia, Albania, Bulgaria, Corse, France, Greece, Italy, Kriti, NW. Balkan Pen., Portugal, Romania, Sicilia, Spain, Türkiye-in-Europe, Ukraine, Cook Is., Marianas, Tokelau-Manihiki AngolaBeninBotswanaBurkinaBurundiCameroonCape ProvincesCaprivi StripCentral African RepublicChadCongoDR CongoEquatorial GuineaEswatiniEthiopiaFree StateGabonGambiaGhanaGuineaGuinea-BissauGulf of Guinea Is.Ivory CoastKenyaKwaZulu-NatalLesothoLiberiaMadagascarMalawiMaliMauritaniaMozambiqueNamibiaNigerNigeriaNorthern ProvincesRwandaSenegalSierra LeoneSomaliaSudan-South SudanTanzaniaTogoUgandaZambiaZimbabweAfghanistanChina North-CentralChina South-CentralChina SoutheastHainanInner MongoliaIranIraqJapanKazakhstanKirgizstanLebanon-SyriaManchuriaOmanPalestinePrimoryeTadzhikistanTaiwanTranscaucasusTürkiyeUzbekistanXinjiangYemenBangladeshEast HimalayaIndiaJawaLesser Sunda Is.MalayaMyanmarNepalNew GuineaPakistanPhilippinesSri LankaSulawesiSumateraThailandVietnamWest HimalayaNew South WalesNorthern TerritoryQueenslandSouth AustraliaVictoriaWestern AustraliaAlbaniaBulgariaCorseFranceGreeceItalyKritiNW. Balkan Pen.PortugalRomaniaSiciliaSpainTürkiye-in-EuropeUkraine AzoresComorosMauritiusRéunionSeychellesKoreaNansei-shotoAndaman Is.Nicobar Is.Norfolk Is.Cook Is.MarianasTokelau-Manihiki
Native distribution of Cyperus difformis, 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
Azores AZO
Benin BEN
Botswana BOT
Burkina BKN
Burundi BUR
Cameroon CMN
Cape Provinces CPP
Caprivi Strip CPV
Central African Republic CAF
Chad CHA
Comoros COM
Congo CON
DR Congo ZAI
Equatorial Guinea EQG
Eswatini SWZ
Ethiopia ETH
Free State OFS
Gabon GAB
Gambia GAM
Ghana GHA
Guinea GUI
Guinea-Bissau GNB
Gulf of Guinea Is. GGI
Ivory Coast IVO
Kenya KEN
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Lesotho LES
Liberia LBR
Madagascar MDG
Malawi MLW
Mali MLI
Mauritania MTN
Mauritius MAU
Mozambique MOZ
Namibia NAM
Niger NGR
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Réunion REU
Rwanda RWA
Senegal SEN
Seychelles SEY
Sierra Leone SIE
Socotra SOC
Somalia SOM
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Togo TOG
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Afghanistan AFG ASIA-TEMPERATE
China North-Central CHN
China South-Central CHC
China Southeast CHS
Hainan CHH
Inner Mongolia CHI
Iran IRN
Iraq IRQ
Japan JAP
Kazakhstan KAZ
Kazan-retto KZN
Kirgizstan KGZ
Korea KOR
Lebanon-Syria LBS
Manchuria CHM
Nansei-shoto NNS
Ogasawara-shoto OGA
Oman OMA
Palestine PAL
Primorye PRM
Tadzhikistan TZK
Taiwan TAI
Transcaucasus TCS
Türkiye TUR
Uzbekistan UZB
Xinjiang CHX
Yemen YEM
Andaman Is. AND ASIA-TROPICAL
Bangladesh BAN
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Jawa JAW
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
Malaya MLY
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
West Himalaya WHM
Albania ALB EUROPE
Bulgaria BUL
Corse COR
France FRA
Greece GRC
Italy ITA
Kriti KRI
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Portugal POR
Romania ROM
Sicilia SIC
Spain SPA
Türkiye-in-Europe TUE
Ukraine UKR
New South Wales NSW AUSTRALASIA
Norfolk Is. NFK
Northern Territory NTA
Queensland QLD
South Australia SOA
Victoria VIC
Western Australia WAU
Cook Is. COO PACIFIC
Marianas MRN
Tokelau-Manihiki TOK

Not drawn on the map: Socotra, Kazan-retto, Ogasawara-shoto. 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 76 in flower of 101 examined

Proportion of examined Cyperus difformis in flower, by month
Month In flower Examined Share 95% interval
Jan 5 7 71% 36% to 92%
Feb 6 7 86% 49% to 97%
Mar 5 7 71% 36% to 92%
Apr 4 5 80% 38% to 96%
May 12 17 71% 47% to 87%
Jun 3 4 too few examined
Jul 8 8 100% 68% to 100%
Aug 13 16 81% 57% to 93%
Sep 7 9 78% 45% to 94%
Oct 4 10 40% 17% to 69%
Nov 4 5 80% 38% to 96%
Dec 5 6 83% 44% to 97%

Peak flowering in Jul. Each bar is the share of Cyperus difformis 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. 76 of 101 examined observations were in flower, every one of them research grade. The whisker on each bar is a 95% Wilson interval. One month has fewer than 5 examined observations, so no proportion is drawn for it. 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 12 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 difformis f. humilis Debeaux
  • Cyperus difformis f. maximus C.B.Clarke
  • Cyperus difformis var. breviglobosus Kük.
  • Cyperus difformis var. subdecompositus Kük.
  • Cyperus goeringii Steud.
  • Cyperus holoschoenoides Jan ex Schult.
  • Cyperus holoschoenoides Jan
  • Cyperus lateriflorus Torr.
  • Cyperus oryzetorum Steud.
  • Cyperus protractus Link
  • Cyperus subrotundus Llanos
  • Cyperus viridis Willd. ex Kunth

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.