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Northeast Wetland Flora

Field Office Guide to Plant Species

Many-flower Flatsedge
Cyperus lancastriensis T. Porter ex Gray

JPG -- Species Photo JPG -- Distribution Map

Family: Sedge (Cyperaceae)
Flowering: July-October
Field Marks: The distinctive features of this flatsedge are the linear, pointed, 3- to 10-flowered, 50 to 100 or more yellow-brown spikelets that are crowded into dense spikes.
Habitat: Meadows, woods, fields, not particularly moist.
Habit: Perennial herb from a thickened crown and a short rhizome.
Stems: Upright, triangular, usually smooth, up to 3 feet tall, mostly longer than the leaves.
Leaves: Elongated, smooth or sometimes rough along the edges, up to 1/2 inch wide.
Flowers: Borne in spikelets, with the spikelets arranged in spikes, with several spikes forming a 6- to 9- rayed umbel, the umbel subtended by 4-7 leaf-like bracts; each spike oval, with the spikelets radiating in all directions; spikelets linear, pointed, 3- to 10-flowered, up to 1/2 inch long, yellow-brown.
Sepals: 0.
Petals: 0.
Stamens: 3.
Pistils: Ovary superior.
Fruits: Achenes narrowly oblong, rounded at the tip, up to 1/8 inch long.
Notes: The achenes are eaten by wildlife.

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Page Last Modified: Thursday, 03-Aug-2006 11:39:25 EDT
Menlo Park, CA [caww55]