Flora of North America species comparison

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Cyperus prolifer

miniature flatsedge
Habit Herbs, perennial, cespitose, rhizomatous.
Culms

trigonous to terete, 20–100 cm × 2–6 mm, soft (flattened in drying), glabrous, often flopping over and rooting at base of rays.
Leaves

blades reduced to sheath.
Inflorescences

rays 100–250, 5–16 cm; 2d order rays 0.5–5 cm;

bracts 2–3, horizontal or reflexed, 4–12 cm × 1.5–4 mm.
Spikelets

1–30, linear-lanceoloid, ellipsoid to narrowly ovoid, compressed-quadrangular, 6–17 × 1–1.5 mm;

floral scales 5–12, reddish brown, 1–3-ribbed, 1.2–1.7 × 0.7–0.9 mm, apex mucronulate.
Flowers

stamens 3;

anthers 1–1.2 mm;

styles 0.3 mm;

stigmas 1–1.3 mm.
Achenes

brown, obovoid, 0.4 × 0.2 mm, base stipelike to nearly cuneate, apex obtuse, surfaces finely reticulate.

Cyperus prolifer
Phenology Fruiting summer.
Habitat Pond shores, marshes
Elevation 0–200 m (0–700 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; FL; tropical e Africa [Introduced in North America]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Cyperus prolifer has long been cultivated in fish ponds and water gardens and has been reported under the name C. isocladus.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 23, p. 152.
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. gracilis, 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. 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
Synonyms C. isocladus
Name authority Lamarck: in J. Lamarck and J. Poiret, Tabl. Encycl. 1: 147. (1791)
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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