Burke: Cyperus lanceolatus vs. Cyperus esculentus

	Cyperus lanceolatus	Cyperus esculentus
		yellow nut-grass
Habit		Herbaceous, sweet-scented perennial, the sharply triangular, solid stems 1-7 dm. tall, arising singly from slender rhizomes that terminate in small tubers.
Leaves		Leaves grass-like, clustered at the base, the elongate blade 3-8 mm. wide, the sheaths closed; involucre bracts elongate, unequal, sometimes longer than the leaves.
Flowers		Spikelets in open, cylindric spikes, the terminal spike or cluster of spikes sessile, the others single or in small groups on rays up to 7 cm. long; spikelets slender, 0.5-5 cm. long and 1-2 mm. wide; scales of the spikelets in two vertical rows, 2.5-3 mm. long, several nerved, broad and overlapping laterally, but not closely set; perianth none; stamens 3; style trifid.
Fruits		Achenes unequally triangular, 1.3-2 mm. long.

	Cyperus lanceolatus	Cyperus esculentus
Flowering time		June-August
Habitat		Moist, low ground along streams and ditches, but sometimes in drier ground.
Distribution	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east across North America to the Atlantic Coast. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin		Native
Conservation status		Not of concern
Sibling taxa	C. acuminatus, C. bipartitus, C. diandrus, C. eragrostis, C. erythrorhizos, C. esculentus, C. fuscus, C. lupulinus, C. lupulinus × C. schweinitzii, C. schweinitzii, C. squarrosus, C. strigosus	C. acuminatus, C. bipartitus, C. diandrus, C. eragrostis, C. erythrorhizos, C. fuscus, C. lupulinus, C. lupulinus × C. schweinitzii, C. schweinitzii, C. squarrosus, C. strigosus
Subordinate taxa		C. esculentus var. leptostachyus
Web links	Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Cyperus lanceolatus

Cyperus esculentus

yellow nut-grass

Habit

Herbaceous, sweet-scented perennial, the sharply triangular, solid stems 1-7 dm. tall, arising singly from slender rhizomes that terminate in small tubers.

Leaves

Leaves grass-like, clustered at the base, the elongate blade 3-8 mm. wide, the sheaths closed;

involucre bracts elongate, unequal, sometimes longer than the leaves.

Flowers

Spikelets in open, cylindric spikes, the terminal spike or cluster of spikes sessile, the others single or in small groups on rays up to 7 cm. long;

spikelets slender, 0.5-5 cm. long and 1-2 mm. wide;

scales of the spikelets in two vertical rows, 2.5-3 mm. long, several nerved, broad and overlapping laterally, but not closely set;

perianth none;

stamens 3;

style trifid.

Fruits

Achenes unequally triangular, 1.3-2 mm. long.