Flora of North America species comparison

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Cyperus gracilis

slimjim flatsedge
Habit Herbs, annual or perennial.
Culms

weak, often arching, basally culmlike, weakly 4(–5)-angled, 10–30 cm × 0.2–0.4 mm, glabrous.
Leaves

1–4, 3–25 cm × 1–1.5 mm.
Inflorescences

rays absent, often proliferous;

bracts 2–4, longest erect, looking like continuation of culm, V-shaped, 3–6 cm × 1–3 mm.
Spikelets

1–3(–6), narrowly ellipsoid, weakly compressed, 5–10 × 2 mm;

floral scales 8–16, laterally whitish or dull stramineous, medially green, weakly 3–4-ribbed, broadly ovate, 2.5 × 2 mm, apex acute to mucronate, mucro slightly excurved, 0.2–0.3 mm.
Flowers

stamens 3;

styles 0.8 mm;

stigmas 1–1.3 mm.
Achenes

brown, stipitate, obovoid, abaxial angle more prominent than adaxial ones, 0.7 × 0.7 mm, apex emarginate, surfaces glabrous.

Cyperus gracilis
Phenology Fruiting summer–early fall.
Habitat Disturbed, moist areas
Elevation 0–100 m (0–300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; Australia [Introduced in North America]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Carex gracilis comprises diminutive plants with a delicate, arching habit and distinctive knoblike angles to the achenes.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 23.
Parent taxa Cyperaceae > Cyperus > subg. Pycnostachys
Sibling taxa
C. acuminatus, C. aggregatus, C. alopecuroides, C. amabilis, C. articulatus, C. bipartitus, C. cephalanthus, C. compressus, C. croceus, C. cuspidatus, C. dentatus, C. dentoniae, C. diandrus, C. difformis, C. digitatus, C. dipsaceus, C. distans, C. distinctus, C. drummondii, C. echinatus, C. elegans, C. entrerianus, C. eragrostis, C. erythrorhizos, C. esculentus, C. fendlerianus, C. filicinus, C. filiculmis, C. filiformis, C. flavescens, C. flavicomus, C. floribundus, C. fugax, C. fuligineus, C. fuscus, C. giganteus, C. granitophilus, C. grayi, C. grayoides, C. haspan, C. hermaphroditus, C. houghtonii, C. hypopitys, C. hystricinus, C. involucratus, C. iria, C. laevigatus, C. lancastriensis, C. lanceolatus, C. lecontei, C. lentiginosus, C. ligularis, C. lupulinus, C. manimae, C. microiria, C. mutisii, C. niger, C. ochraceus, C. odoratus, C. onerosus, C. ovatus, C. owanii, C. oxylepis, C. pallidicolor, C. papyrus, C. parishii, C. pilosus, C. planifolius, C. plukenetii, C. polystachyos, C. prolifer, C. prolixus, C. pseudothyrsiflorus, C. pseudovegetus, C. pumilus, C. reflexus, C. refractus, C. retroflexus, C. retrofractus, C. retrorsus, C. rotundus, C. sanguinolentus, C. schweinitzii, C. serotinus, C. seslerioides, C. setigerus, C. spectabilis, C. sphacelatus, C. sphaerolepis, C. squarrosus, C. strigosus, C. surinamensis, C. tetragonus, C. thyrsiflorus, C. virens
Name authority R. Brown: Prodr., 213. (1810)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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