Cyperus echinatus(L.) Alph.Wood

globe flatsedge

WFO wfo-0000372350 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Cyperus echinatus, photographed by Michelle W. （鍾偉瑋）
fig. a Michelle W. （鍾偉瑋）, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-05-22 / obs. 200111888
Cyperus echinatus, photographed by Andy Jordan
fig. b Andy Jordan, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 198658567
Cyperus echinatus, photographed by Michelle W. （鍾偉瑋）
fig. c Michelle W. （鍾偉瑋）, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 161189098
Cyperus echinatus, photographed by john_hall
fig. d john_hall, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 151068188
Cyperus echinatus, photographed by kcthetc1
fig. e kcthetc1, CC0 1.0 / obs. 147909915
Cyperus echinatus, photographed by Zihao Wang
fig. f Zihao Wang, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 144732693
Cyperus echinatus, photographed by Jay Pruett
fig. g Jay Pruett, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 143754781
Cyperus echinatus, photographed by kcthetc1
fig. h kcthetc1, CC0 1.0 / obs. 141969155

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 30 botanical countries

Regions where Cyperus echinatus is native: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode I., South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin AlabamaArkansasFloridaGeorgiaIllinoisIndianaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMarylandMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestMississippiMissouriNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaOhioOklahomaPennsylvaniaSouth CarolinaTennesseeTexasVirginiaWest VirginiaWisconsin DelawareDistrict of ColumbiaRhode I.
Native distribution of Cyperus echinatus, 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
Alabama ALA NORTHERN AMERICA
Arkansas ARK
Delaware DEL
District of Columbia WDC
Florida FLA
Georgia GEO
Illinois ILL
Indiana INI
Kansas KAN
Kentucky KTY
Louisiana LOU
Maryland MRY
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mexico Southwest MXS
Mississippi MSI
Missouri MSO
New Jersey NWJ
New Mexico NWM
New York NWY
North Carolina NCA
Ohio OHI
Oklahoma OKL
Pennsylvania PEN
Rhode I. RHO
South Carolina SCA
Tennessee TEN
Texas TEX
Virginia VRG
West Virginia WVA
Wisconsin WIS

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 18 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 ovularis (Michx.) Torr.
  • Cyperus ovularis var. americanus Boeckeler
  • Cyperus ovularis var. sphaericus Boeckeler
  • Cyperus ovularis var. wolfii (Alph.Wood) Kük.
  • Cyperus wolfii Alph.Wood
  • Kyllinga ovularis Michx.
  • Mariscus bracheilema Steud.
  • Mariscus drummondii Steud.
  • Mariscus echinatus (L.) Elliott
  • Mariscus globulosus Urb.
  • Mariscus ovularis (Michx.) Vahl
  • Mariscus ovularis var. tenellus Torr.
  • Mariscus retroflexus Willd. ex Kunth
  • Mariscus rivularis Walp.
  • Mariscus sphaericus Willd. ex Kunth
  • Mariscus sphaerocephalus Steud.
  • Schoenus umbellatus Jacq.
  • Scirpus echinatus L.

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.