Cyperus mindorensis(Steud.) Huygh

whitehead spikesedge

WFO wfo-0001429156 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Cyperus mindorensis, photographed by Kevin Faccenda
fig. a Kevin Faccenda, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-05-30 / obs. 203984552

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 73 botanical countries

Regions where Cyperus mindorensis is native: Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo, DR Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Gulf of Guinea Is., Ivory Coast, KwaZulu-Natal, Liberia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Réunion, Seychelles, Socotra, St.Helena, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Kazan-retto, Nansei-shoto, Ogasawara-shoto, Taiwan, Transcaucasus, Assam, Bangladesh, Bismarck Archipelago, Borneo, Cambodia, East Himalaya, India, Jawa, Laccadive Is., Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Pakistan, Philippines, Solomon Is., Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Norfolk Is., Queensland, Caroline Is., Cook Is., Gilbert Is., Marianas, Marshall Is., New Caledonia, Samoa, Society Is., Tokelau-Manihiki, Tonga, Tuamotu, Tubuai Is., Vanuatu, Wallis-Futuna Is. BeninCameroonCentral African RepublicCongoDR CongoGabonGhanaGuineaGulf of Guinea Is.Ivory CoastKwaZulu-NatalLiberiaMadagascarMozambiqueNigeriaTanzaniaTogoUgandaChina South-CentralChina SoutheastHainanTaiwanTranscaucasusAssamBangladeshBismarck ArchipelagoBorneoCambodiaEast HimalayaIndiaJawaLaosLesser Sunda Is.MalayaMalukuMyanmarNepalNew GuineaPakistanPhilippinesSolomon Is.Sri LankaSulawesiSumateraThailandVietnamWest HimalayaQueenslandNew Caledonia ComorosMauritiusRéunionSeychellesSt.HelenaNansei-shotoLaccadive Is.Norfolk Is.Caroline Is.Cook Is.MarianasMarshall Is.SamoaSociety Is.Tokelau-ManihikiTongaTuamotuTubuai Is.VanuatuWallis-Futuna Is.
Native distribution of Cyperus mindorensis, 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
Assam ASS ASIA-TROPICAL
Bangladesh BAN
Bismarck Archipelago BIS
Borneo BOR
Cambodia CBD
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Jawa JAW
Laccadive Is. LDV
Laos LAO
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
Malaya MLY
Maluku MOL
Myanmar MYA
Nepal NEP
New Guinea NWG
Pakistan PAK
Philippines PHI
Solomon Is. SOL
Sri Lanka SRL
Sulawesi SUL
Sumatera SUM
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
Benin BEN AFRICA
Cameroon CMN
Central African Republic CAF
Comoros COM
Congo CON
DR Congo ZAI
Gabon GAB
Ghana GHA
Guinea GUI
Gulf of Guinea Is. GGI
Ivory Coast IVO
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Liberia LBR
Madagascar MDG
Mauritius MAU
Mozambique MOZ
Nigeria NGA
Réunion REU
Seychelles SEY
Socotra SOC
St.Helena STH
Tanzania TAN
Togo TOG
Uganda UGA
Caroline Is. CRL PACIFIC
Cook Is. COO
Gilbert Is. GIL
Marianas MRN
Marshall Is. MRS
New Caledonia NWC
Samoa SAM
Society Is. SCI
Tokelau-Manihiki TOK
Tonga TON
Tuamotu TUA
Tubuai Is. TUB
Vanuatu VAN
Wallis-Futuna Is. WAL
China South-Central CHC ASIA-TEMPERATE
China Southeast CHS
Hainan CHH
Kazan-retto KZN
Nansei-shoto NNS
Ogasawara-shoto OGA
Taiwan TAI
Transcaucasus TCS
Norfolk Is. NFK AUSTRALASIA
Queensland QLD

Not drawn on the map: Socotra, Kazan-retto, Ogasawara-shoto, Gilbert Is.. 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 140 in flower of 150 examined

Proportion of examined Cyperus mindorensis in flower, by month
Month In flower Examined Share 95% interval
Jan 4 5 80% 38% to 96%
Feb 7 7 100% 65% to 100%
Mar 18 18 100% 82% to 100%
Apr 30 31 97% 84% to 99%
May 19 22 86% 67% to 95%
Jun 4 5 80% 38% to 96%
Jul 3 4 too few examined
Aug 5 6 83% 44% to 97%
Sep 13 13 100% 77% to 100%
Oct 16 18 89% 67% to 97%
Nov 10 10 100% 72% to 100%
Dec 11 11 100% 74% to 100%

Peak flowering in Feb. Each bar is the share of Cyperus mindorensis 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. 140 of 150 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 23 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 curvispiculosus T.Koyama
  • Cyperus kyllingia f. humilis (Boeckeler) Kük.
  • Cyperus kyllingia f. subtriceps (Kunth) Kük.
  • Cyperus kyllingia f. tenuis (Boeckeler) Kük.
  • Cyperus kyllingia var. latifolius (Boeckeler) Kük.
  • Cyperus leucocephalus Hassk.
  • Cyperus sesquiflorus f. latifolius (Boeckeler) Kük.
  • Kyllinga cephalotes Druce
  • Kyllinga curvispiculosa (T.Koyama) P.H.Hô
  • Kyllinga gracilis Zoll.
  • Kyllinga intermedia Seem.
  • Kyllinga mindorensis Steud.
  • Kyllinga monocephala Stokes
  • Kyllinga monocephala var. humilis Boeckeler
  • Kyllinga monocephala var. latifolia Boeckeler
  • Kyllinga monocephala var. subtriceps Kunth
  • Kyllinga monocephala var. tenuis Boeckeler
  • Kyllinga nemoralis (J.R.Forst. & G.Forst.) Dandy ex Hutch. & Dalziel
  • Kyllinga nemoralis var. subnemoralis Wad.Khan & Sardesai
  • Kyllinga planiculmis C.B.Clarke ex Cherm.
  • Kyllinga planiculmis var. mucronata Cherm.
  • Scirpus cephalotes Jacq.
  • Thryocephalon nemorale J.R.Forst. & G.Forst.

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 KYNE. 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.