Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Section: Common Name: Scientific Name: Family:
Account for Engelmann's Flatsedge - Cyperus odoratus var. engelmannii   (Steudel) R. Carter, S.D. Jones, & J. Wipff
Members of Cyperaceae:
Members of Cyperus with account distribution info or public map:
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Section 5 » Family Cyperaceae
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Author(Steudel) R. Carter, S.D. Jones, & J. Wipff
DistributionThis taxon has been elevated to full species status by Weakley (2022).
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Taxonomic CommentsThe genus Cyperus is mostly tropical and warm-temperate in distribution; thus, in NC it is much commoner in the Coastal Plain than in the Mountains and Piedmont. Most species have 1-few flowering stems (culms) from grasslike basal leaves, plus a few stem leaves. At the summit is an inflorescence of very open and branched, or tightly packed, spikes, varying among species from brown to golden brown to straw-color to reddish. The arrangement of the spikelets is important, whether like a hand (digitate) or in paired rows (pinnate); as is the shape of the achene (seed), whether bi-convex in cross-section or triangular. As a group, Cyperus tends to be weedy and readily enters disturbed ground; this is true for many natives as well as all the aliens. In recent years, following DNA research, the genus has incorporated several genera that in RAB (1968) or other manuals were separate: Hemicarpha, Lipocarpha, and Kyllinga.
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B.A. Sorriesame data Photo_non_NCPhoto_non_NC
B.A. SorriePhoto taken 1981, Arlington, MA. Photo_non_NCPhoto_non_NC
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