Cyperus dubiusRottb.

WFO wfo-0000372214 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 4 observations

This species has been photographed under an open licence only 4 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 dubius, photographed by Tony Rebelo
fig. a Tony Rebelo, CC BY-SA 4.0 / 2020-02-27 / obs. 63504714
Cyperus dubius, photographed by Nicola van Berkel
fig. b Nicola van Berkel, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 78186621
Cyperus dubius, photographed by Nicola van Berkel
fig. c Nicola van Berkel, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 78186639
Cyperus dubius, photographed by Shaun Swanepoel
fig. d Shaun Swanepoel, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 105476799
Cyperus dubius, photographed by Nicola van Berkel
fig. e Nicola van Berkel, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 78186609
Cyperus dubius, photographed by Shaun Swanepoel
fig. f Shaun Swanepoel, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 105476779
Cyperus dubius, photographed by Shaun Swanepoel
fig. g Shaun Swanepoel, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 105476777
Cyperus dubius, photographed by Aaliyah Motala
fig. h Aaliyah Motala, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 107326181

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 63 botanical countries

Regions where Cyperus dubius is native: Aldabra, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, Central African Republic, Chagos Archipelago, Comoros, Congo, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Gulf of Guinea Is., Ivory Coast, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Mozambique Channel Is., Namibia, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Réunion, Rodrigues, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Hainan, Oman, Yemen, Assam, Bangladesh, Borneo, Cambodia, India, Jawa, Laccadive Is., Laos, Malaya, Maldives, Myanmar, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam AngolaBeninBotswanaBurundiCameroonCape ProvincesCentral African RepublicCongoDR CongoEquatorial GuineaEritreaEswatiniEthiopiaGabonGhanaGuineaGulf of Guinea Is.Ivory CoastKenyaKwaZulu-NatalLiberiaMadagascarMalawiMozambiqueNamibiaNigeriaNorthern ProvincesRwandaSierra LeoneSomaliaSudan-South SudanTanzaniaTogoUgandaZambiaZimbabweHainanOmanYemenAssamBangladeshBorneoCambodiaIndiaJawaLaosMalayaMyanmarPhilippinesSri LankaSumateraThailandVietnam AldabraChagos ArchipelagoComorosMauritiusMozambique Channel Is.RéunionRodriguesSeychellesLaccadive Is.Maldives
Native distribution of Cyperus dubius, 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
Aldabra ALD AFRICA
Angola ANG
Benin BEN
Botswana BOT
Burundi BUR
Cameroon CMN
Cape Provinces CPP
Central African Republic CAF
Chagos Archipelago CGS
Comoros COM
Congo CON
DR Congo ZAI
Equatorial Guinea EQG
Eritrea ERI
Eswatini SWZ
Ethiopia ETH
Gabon GAB
Ghana GHA
Guinea GUI
Gulf of Guinea Is. GGI
Ivory Coast IVO
Kenya KEN
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Liberia LBR
Madagascar MDG
Malawi MLW
Mauritius MAU
Mozambique MOZ
Mozambique Channel Is. MCI
Namibia NAM
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Réunion REU
Rodrigues ROD
Rwanda RWA
Seychelles SEY
Sierra Leone SIE
Somalia SOM
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Togo TOG
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Assam ASS ASIA-TROPICAL
Bangladesh BAN
Borneo BOR
Cambodia CBD
India IND
Jawa JAW
Laccadive Is. LDV
Laos LAO
Malaya MLY
Maldives MDV
Myanmar MYA
Philippines PHI
Sri Lanka SRL
Sumatera SUM
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
Hainan CHH ASIA-TEMPERATE
Oman OMA
Yemen YEM

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 48 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 capitatus Poir.
  • Cyperus capitellatus Schult.
  • Cyperus coloratus Vahl
  • Cyperus daphaenus Ridl.
  • Cyperus dregeanus var. incrassatus C.B.Clarke
  • Cyperus dubius Boeckeler
  • Cyperus dubius subsp. coloratus (Vahl) Lye
  • Cyperus dubius subsp. macrocephalus (C.B.Clarke) Lye
  • Cyperus dubius var. caespitosus Boeckeler
  • Cyperus dubius var. capitatus (Cherm.) Kük.
  • Cyperus dubius var. coloratus (Vahl) Kük.
  • Cyperus dubius var. decaryi (Cherm.) Kük.
  • Cyperus dubius var. detersus (C.B.Clarke ex Cherm.) Kük.
  • Cyperus dubius var. polyactis Peter ex Kük.
  • Cyperus dubius var. stenactis Peter ex Kük.
  • Cyperus kraussii Boeckeler
  • Cyperus kyllingioides Vahl
  • Cyperus kyllingioides var. incrassatus (C.B.Clarke) Kük.
  • Cyperus macrocarpus var. kraussii (Boeckeler) Kük.
  • Cyperus maritimus (Miq.) Valck.Sur.
  • Cyperus maritimus Missbach & E.H.L.Krause
  • Cyperus merrillii (C.B.Clarke) Kük.
  • Cyperus mollis Poir.
  • Cyperus thouarsianus C.Presl

and 24 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. 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.