Cyperus virensMichx.

green flatsedge

WFO wfo-0000384734 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Cyperus virens, photographed by Daniel Patterson
fig. a Daniel Patterson, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-01-04 / obs. 174825881
Cyperus virens, photographed by Blake Bringhurst
fig. b Blake Bringhurst, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 150791835
Cyperus virens, photographed by Vicki Miller
fig. c Vicki Miller, CC0 1.0 / obs. 133196473
Cyperus virens, photographed by Dan Johnson
fig. d Dan Johnson, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 102652597
Cyperus virens, photographed by Dan Johnson
fig. e Dan Johnson, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 101874251
Cyperus virens, photographed by Claire Herzog
fig. f Claire Herzog, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 82295613
Cyperus virens, photographed by Tyler Bishop
fig. g Tyler Bishop, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 79129777
Cyperus virens, photographed by Tyler Bishop
fig. h Tyler Bishop, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 79129802

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 36 botanical countries

Regions where Cyperus virens is native: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Bolivia, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Chile Central, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela AlabamaFloridaGeorgiaLouisianaMexico CentralMexico GulfMexico NortheastMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestMississippiNorth CarolinaSouth CarolinaTexasArgentina NortheastArgentina NorthwestBoliviaBrazil SouthBrazil SoutheastBrazil West-CentralChile CentralColombiaCosta RicaCubaDominican RepublicEl SalvadorGuatemalaHaitiHondurasJamaicaNicaraguaPanamáParaguayPuerto RicoSurinameUruguayVenezuela
Native distribution of Cyperus virens, 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
Argentina Northeast AGE SOUTHERN AMERICA
Argentina Northwest AGW
Bolivia BOL
Brazil South BZS
Brazil Southeast BZL
Brazil West-Central BZC
Chile Central CLC
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Cuba CUB
Dominican Republic DOM
El Salvador ELS
Guatemala GUA
Haiti HAI
Honduras HON
Jamaica JAM
Nicaragua NIC
Panamá PAN
Paraguay PAR
Puerto Rico PUE
Suriname SUR
Uruguay URU
Venezuela VEN
Alabama ALA NORTHERN AMERICA
Florida FLA
Georgia GEO
Louisiana LOU
Mexico Central MXC
Mexico Gulf MXG
Mexico Northeast MXE
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mexico Southwest MXS
Mississippi MSI
North Carolina NCA
South Carolina SCA
Texas TEX

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 16 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 acutangulus Boeckeler
  • Cyperus baenitzii Boeckeler
  • Cyperus consanguineus var. minarum (Boeck.) Denton
  • Cyperus consanguineus var. minarum (Boeckeler) Kük.
  • Cyperus formosus Vahl
  • Cyperus glomeratus Walter
  • Cyperus minarum Boeckeler
  • Cyperus montanus Boeckeler
  • Cyperus scaberrimus Boeckeler
  • Cyperus surinamensis var. formosus (Vahl) Kük.
  • Cyperus uleanus Boeckeler
  • Cyperus vegetus var. acutangulus (Boeckeler) Kuntze
  • Cyperus virens var. acutangulus (Boeckeler) Kük.
  • Cyperus virens var. glaucopallidus Boeckeler
  • Cyperus virens var. scaberrimus Kük.
  • Scirpus reticulatus Lam.

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.