Cyperus flavidusRetz.

yellow flatsedge

WFO wfo-0000373599 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Cyperus flavidus, photographed by chiuluan
fig. a chiuluan, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-05-23 / obs. 200291366
Cyperus flavidus, photographed by chiuluan
fig. b chiuluan, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 198410422
Cyperus flavidus, photographed by chiuluan
fig. c chiuluan, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 196775890
Cyperus flavidus, photographed by chiuluan
fig. d chiuluan, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 195065621
Cyperus flavidus, photographed by chiuluan
fig. e chiuluan, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 189791790
Cyperus flavidus, photographed by chiuluan
fig. f chiuluan, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 188775457
Cyperus flavidus, photographed by chiuluan
fig. g chiuluan, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 187857211
Cyperus flavidus, photographed by chiuluan
fig. h chiuluan, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 182676981

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 72 botanical countries

Regions where Cyperus flavidus is native: Algeria, Cape Provinces, Egypt, Eswatini, KwaZulu-Natal, Madagascar, Mauritius, Morocco, Réunion, Seychelles, Afghanistan, Amur, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, East Aegean Is., Hainan, Inner Mongolia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kazan-retto, Kirgizstan, Korea, Lebanon-Syria, Manchuria, Nansei-shoto, North Caucasus, Ogasawara-shoto, Palestine, Primorye, Qinghai, Tadzhikistan, Taiwan, Tibet, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Xinjiang, Assam, Bangladesh, Borneo, Cambodia, East Himalaya, India, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Bulgaria, France, Greece, Italy, Kriti, Spain AlgeriaCape ProvincesEgyptEswatiniKwaZulu-NatalMadagascarMoroccoAfghanistanAmurChina North-CentralChina South-CentralChina SoutheastEast Aegean Is.HainanInner MongoliaIranIraqJapanKazakhstanKirgizstanLebanon-SyriaManchuriaNorth CaucasusPalestinePrimoryeQinghaiTadzhikistanTaiwanTibetTranscaucasusTürkiyeTurkmenistanUzbekistanXinjiangAssamBangladeshBorneoCambodiaEast HimalayaIndiaJawaLaosLesser Sunda Is.MalayaMalukuMyanmarNepalNew GuineaPakistanPhilippinesSri LankaSulawesiSumateraThailandVietnamWest HimalayaNew South WalesQueenslandVictoriaBulgariaFranceGreeceItalyKritiSpain MauritiusRéunionSeychellesKoreaNansei-shoto
Native distribution of Cyperus flavidus, 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
Afghanistan AFG ASIA-TEMPERATE
Amur AMU
China North-Central CHN
China South-Central CHC
China Southeast CHS
East Aegean Is. EAI
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
North Caucasus NCS
Ogasawara-shoto OGA
Palestine PAL
Primorye PRM
Qinghai CHQ
Tadzhikistan TZK
Taiwan TAI
Tibet CHT
Transcaucasus TCS
Türkiye TUR
Turkmenistan TKM
Uzbekistan UZB
Xinjiang CHX
Assam ASS ASIA-TROPICAL
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
Pakistan PAK
Philippines PHI
Sri Lanka SRL
Sulawesi SUL
Sumatera SUM
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
Algeria ALG AFRICA
Cape Provinces CPP
Egypt EGY
Eswatini SWZ
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Madagascar MDG
Mauritius MAU
Morocco MOR
Réunion REU
Seychelles SEY
Bulgaria BUL EUROPE
France FRA
Greece GRC
Italy ITA
Kriti KRI
Spain SPA
New South Wales NSW AUSTRALASIA
Queensland QLD
Victoria VIC

Not drawn on the map: 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 33 in flower of 37 examined

Peak flowering in May. Each bar is the share of Cyperus flavidus 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. 33 of 37 examined observations were in flower, every one of them research grade. The whisker on each bar is a 95% Wilson interval. 9 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 73 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.

  • Chlorocyperus globosus (Rchb.) Palla
  • Chlorocyperus nilagiricus (Hochst. ex Steud.) Rikli
  • Cyperus ater Dalzell & A.Gibson
  • Cyperus atroferrugineus Steud.
  • Cyperus capillaris J.Koenig ex Roxb.
  • Cyperus complanatus C.Presl
  • Cyperus confertus Lam.
  • Cyperus curvatus Vahl
  • Cyperus divaricatus Lam.
  • Cyperus fascicularis DC.
  • Cyperus flavidus var. erectus (C.B.Clarke) Korlah.
  • Cyperus flavidus var. khasianus (C.B.Clarke) Korlah.
  • Cyperus flavidus var. nilagiricus (Hochst. ex Steud.) Korlah.
  • Cyperus flavidus var. strictus (C.B.Clarke) Korlah.
  • Cyperus fuscoater Meinsh. ex Korsh.
  • Cyperus globosus All.
  • Cyperus globosus f. brevifolius Marcet
  • Cyperus globosus f. cinnamomeus C.B.Clarke
  • Cyperus globosus f. depauperatus Kük.
  • Cyperus globosus f. fuscoater (Meinsh. ex Korsh.) Kük.
  • Cyperus globosus f. khasianus C.B.Clarke
  • Cyperus globosus f. minimus Kük.
  • Cyperus globosus f. pauperior (Boeckeler) Kük.
  • Cyperus globosus f. tortuosus (J.Koenig ex Roxb.) C.B.Clarke

and 49 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. USDA PLANTS Database. common name, checklist symbol CYFL11. public domain. 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.