Cyperus distansL.f.

Piedmont flatsedgeSlender Cyperus

WFO wfo-0000372020 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Cyperus distans, photographed by Ryan Donnelly
fig. a Ryan Donnelly, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-05-27 / obs. 201902676
Cyperus distans, photographed by Chris Merck
fig. b Chris Merck, CC0 1.0 / obs. 197122864
Cyperus distans, photographed by Margaret Burger
fig. c Margaret Burger, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 176775552
Cyperus distans, photographed by Jacy Chen
fig. d Jacy Chen, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 155852001
Cyperus distans, photographed by Jacy Chen
fig. e Jacy Chen, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 153855921
Cyperus distans, photographed by Shaun Swanepoel
fig. f Shaun Swanepoel, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 104631549
Cyperus distans, photographed by Cheng-Tao Lin
fig. g Cheng-Tao Lin, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 12202090
Cyperus distans, photographed by Tony Rebelo
fig. h Tony Rebelo, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 19267415

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 102 botanical countries

Regions where Cyperus distans is native: Angola, Ascension, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf of Guinea Is., Ivory Coast, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Réunion, Rodrigues, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, St.Helena, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Japan, Nansei-shoto, Taiwan, Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Borneo, Cambodia, East Himalaya, India, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Nicobar Is., Philippines, South China Sea, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Queensland, Western Australia, Florida, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, North Carolina, Caroline Is., Argentina Northwest, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Galápagos, Honduras, Jamaica, Leeward Is., Nicaragua, Peru, Puerto Rico, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuela, Venezuelan Antilles, Windward Is. AngolaBeninBotswanaBurkinaBurundiCameroonCentral African RepublicCongoDR CongoEquatorial GuineaEswatiniEthiopiaGabonGambiaGhanaGuineaGuinea-BissauGulf of Guinea Is.Ivory CoastKenyaKwaZulu-NatalLiberiaMadagascarMalawiMaliMozambiqueNigeriaNorthern ProvincesRwandaSenegalSierra LeoneSomaliaSudan-South SudanTanzaniaTogoUgandaZambiaZimbabweChina South-CentralChina SoutheastHainanJapanTaiwanAssamBangladeshBorneoCambodiaEast HimalayaIndiaJawaLaosLesser Sunda Is.MalayaMalukuMyanmarNepalNew GuineaPhilippinesSri LankaSulawesiSumateraThailandVietnamWest HimalayaQueenslandWestern AustraliaFloridaMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestNorth CarolinaArgentina NorthwestBoliviaBrazil NorthBrazil NortheastBrazil SouthBrazil SoutheastColombiaDominican RepublicEcuadorHondurasJamaicaNicaraguaPeruPuerto RicoTrinidad-TobagoVenezuela AscensionComorosMauritiusRéunionRodriguesSeychellesSt.HelenaNansei-shotoAndaman Is.Nicobar Is.South China SeaCaroline Is.GalápagosLeeward Is.Venezuelan AntillesWindward Is.
Native distribution of Cyperus distans, 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
Botswana BOT
Burkina BKN
Burundi BUR
Cameroon CMN
Central African Republic CAF
Comoros COM
Congo CON
DR Congo ZAI
Equatorial Guinea EQG
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
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Réunion REU
Rodrigues ROD
Rwanda RWA
Senegal SEN
Seychelles SEY
Sierra Leone SIE
Somalia SOM
St.Helena STH
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
New Guinea NWG
Nicobar Is. NCB
Philippines PHI
South China Sea SCS
Sri Lanka SRL
Sulawesi SUL
Sumatera SUM
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
Argentina Northwest AGW SOUTHERN AMERICA
Bolivia BOL
Brazil North BZN
Brazil Northeast BZE
Brazil South BZS
Brazil Southeast BZL
Colombia CLM
Dominican Republic DOM
Ecuador ECU
Galápagos GAL
Honduras HON
Jamaica JAM
Leeward Is. LEE
Nicaragua NIC
Peru PER
Puerto Rico PUE
Trinidad-Tobago TRT
Venezuela VEN
Venezuelan Antilles VNA
Windward Is. WIN
China South-Central CHC ASIA-TEMPERATE
China Southeast CHS
Hainan CHH
Japan JAP
Nansei-shoto NNS
Taiwan TAI
Florida FLA NORTHERN AMERICA
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mexico Southwest MXS
North Carolina NCA
Queensland QLD AUSTRALASIA
Western Australia WAU
Caroline Is. CRL PACIFIC

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 43 in flower of 55 examined

Peak flowering in Jun. Each bar is the share of Cyperus distans 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. 43 of 55 examined observations were in flower, every one of them research grade. The whisker on each bar is a 95% Wilson interval. 5 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 33 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 densiflorus Hemsl.
  • Cyperus distans f. capillarioides Kük.
  • Cyperus distans f. pachyanthos Kük.
  • Cyperus distans f. pallidior Kük.
  • Cyperus distans subsp. distans
  • Cyperus distans subsp. longibracteatus (Cherm.) Lye
  • Cyperus distans var. crassispiculosus R.Gross & Kük.
  • Cyperus distans var. densiflorus Kük.
  • Cyperus distans var. mucronatus Berhaut
  • Cyperus distans var. niger C.B.Clarke
  • Cyperus distans var. pseudonutans Kük.
  • Cyperus distans var. rubrotinctus (Cherm.) Lye
  • Cyperus elatus Rottb.
  • Cyperus graminicola Steud.
  • Cyperus keniaeensis Kük.
  • Cyperus keniensis Kük.
  • Cyperus kurrii Steud.
  • Cyperus laxus Vahl
  • Cyperus longibracteatus (Cherm.) Kük.
  • Cyperus longibracteatus var. niger (C.B.Clarke) Lye
  • Cyperus longibracteatus var. rubrotinctus (Cherm.) Kük.
  • Cyperus longibracteatus var. subdistans Kük.
  • Cyperus nutans Sieber ex C.Presl
  • Cyperus psilostachys Steud.

and 9 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.