Cyperus nitidusLam.

WFO wfo-0000378342 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Cyperus nitidus, photographed by Shaun Swanepoel
fig. a Shaun Swanepoel, CC BY 4.0 / 2020-12-29 / obs. 109191583
Cyperus nitidus, photographed by Tony Rebelo
fig. b Tony Rebelo, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 57094667
Cyperus nitidus, photographed by Tony Rebelo
fig. c Tony Rebelo, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 19809345
Cyperus nitidus, photographed by Tony Rebelo
fig. d Tony Rebelo, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 177016286
Cyperus nitidus, photographed by Dave Richardson
fig. e Dave Richardson, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 174949318
Cyperus nitidus, photographed by kevin koen
fig. f kevin koen, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 166956275
Cyperus nitidus, photographed by Tony Rebelo
fig. g Tony Rebelo, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 79909757
Cyperus nitidus, photographed by kevin koen
fig. h kevin koen, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 111185156

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 32 botanical countries

Regions where Cyperus nitidus is native: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, Chad, DR Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Free State, Gambia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Rwanda, Senegal, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lebanon-Syria, Palestine AngolaBeninBotswanaBurundiCameroonCape ProvincesChadDR CongoEswatiniEthiopiaFree StateGambiaGhanaIvory CoastKenyaKwaZulu-NatalMadagascarMalawiMozambiqueNamibiaNigerNigeriaNorthern ProvincesRwandaSenegalSudan-South SudanTanzaniaUgandaZambiaZimbabweLebanon-SyriaPalestine
Native distribution of Cyperus nitidus, 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.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Angola ANG AFRICA
Benin BEN
Botswana BOT
Burundi BUR
Cameroon CMN
Cape Provinces CPP
Chad CHA
DR Congo ZAI
Eswatini SWZ
Ethiopia ETH
Free State OFS
Gambia GAM
Ghana GHA
Ivory Coast IVO
Kenya KEN
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Madagascar MDG
Malawi MLW
Mozambique MOZ
Namibia NAM
Niger NGR
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Rwanda RWA
Senegal SEN
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Lebanon-Syria LBS ASIA-TEMPERATE
Palestine PAL

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 21 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 ater Vahl
  • Cyperus brunneoater Boeckeler
  • Cyperus fulvus Ridl.
  • Cyperus lanceus Thunb.
  • Cyperus lanceus f. densior (Cherm.) Kük.
  • Cyperus lanceus var. divaricatus Kük.
  • Cyperus lanceus var. grantii C.B.Clarke
  • Cyperus lanceus var. humilis Kunth
  • Cyperus lanceus var. melanopus (Boeckeler) Kük.
  • Cyperus lanceus var. palaestinensis Kük.
  • Cyperus lanceus var. ramosus Kük.
  • Cyperus melanopus Boeckeler
  • Cyperus monti var. stylosus C.B.Clarke
  • Cyperus umbraticola Kunth
  • Juncellus stylosus (C.B.Clarke) C.B.Clarke
  • Pycreus antsirabensis Cherm.
  • Pycreus antsirabensis var. densior Cherm.
  • Pycreus lanceus (Thunb.) Turrill
  • Pycreus lanceus var. melanopus (Boeckeler) Troupin
  • Pycreus nitidus (Lam.) J.Raynal
  • Pycreus umbrosus Nees

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.