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Western Wetland Flora

Field Office Guide to Plant Species

Awned Flatsedge
Cyperus aristatus Rottb.

JPG -- Species Photo JPG -- Distribution Map

Family: Sedge (Cyperaceae)
Flowering: June-October
Field Marks: This flatsedge is readily distinguished by its small stature and the slender tips of the scales of the spikelet which are distinctly curved outward.
Habitat: Wet areas, particularly along streams and around lakes and ponds; also in temporary water-filled depressions on sandstone bluffs.
Habit: Tufted annual with fibrous roots.
Stems: Upright, slender, up to 6 inches tall, smooth.
Leaves: Crowded near the base of the plant, elongated, very narrow, up to 1/6 inch wide, smooth.
Flowers: Crowded into flat spikelets; spikelets several, crowded into densely rounded clusters, the central cluster sessile, the other clusters, if present, on stalks; bracts much surpassing the inflorescence; each spikelet flat, less than 1/2 inch long, with 8-16 flowers.
Scales: Lanceolate, awn-tipped, with the tip strongly recurved, green to pale brown.
Sepals: 0.
Petals: 0.
Stamens: 1.
Pistils: Ovary superior; style 3-parted.
Fruits: Achenes triangular, smooth, obovoid to oblongoid, brown, about 1/20 inch long.
Notes: The plants have the odor of slippery elm, particularly when dried. The achenes are eaten by waterfowl.

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Page Last Modified: Saturday, 02-Feb-2013 06:24:42 EST
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