Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Account for Straw-colored Flatsedge - Cyperus strigosus var. stenolepis   (Torr.) Kük.
Members of Cyperaceae:
Members of Cyperus with account distribution info or public map:
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Section 5 » Family Cyperaceae
Author(Torr.) Kük.
DistributionCoastal Plain only. This entity was evaluated and designated as a variety of C. strigosus by Lowe and Carter in the journal Castanea, vol. 87 (2022). However, the authors did not provide a distribution map, nor cite specimens. Herbaria will have to be searched.

"NC south to FL, west to TX." (Weakley et al. 2023).
AbundanceApparently rare.
Habitat"Marshes, ditches, wet flatwoods, wet disturbed areas" (Weakley 2023)
PhenologyJuly to September.
IdentificationThis variety has "Plants > 10 dm tall; floral scales more loosely arranged, the tips gaping distally", versus var. strigosus being "Plants 3-8 (-11) dm tall; floral scales appressed to slightly gaping distally" (Weakley et al. 2023).
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 or alternate 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.
Other Common Name(s)
State Rank[SU]
Global RankG5TNR
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US Status
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Photo Gallery
photographercommentsphoto_linkcountyobsType
B.A.SorrieMarshy roadside, SR 1533, Aug 2011. UnionPhoto_natural
B.A.SorrieEdge of cropfield, Niagara-Carthage Road, Sept 2009.