Cyperus difformis

Variable flatsedge

Family: Cyperaceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Variable flatsedge is a naturalized annual found in the Great Valley and southwestern California in ditches, pond shores, and rice fields at elevations of 100 to 500 meters. Flowering from July to November, this plant produces yellow to yellow-brown flowers in dense, nearly spherical heads with 50 to 100 small spikelets. Growing 3 to 40 centimeters tall with slender stems, it forms compact inflorescences with 2 to 3 bracts and up to 4 spreading rays. Its flower bracts are small, about 0.6 to 0.8 millimeters long, and obovate in shape with three distinctive stigmas. The tiny fruits are glossy, obovoid-ellipsoid, and measure 0.6 to 0.8 millimeters long.

Habitat: Ditches, pond shores, rice fields

Bloom period: Jul-Nov

Elevation: 100-500 m

Bioregions: GV, SW

California counties: Glenn, Riverside, Tehama, San Diego, Butte, San Bernardino, Colusa, Fresno, Kern, Los Angeles, Madera, Merced, Orange, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Stanislaus, Sutter, Yolo, Imperial, Sacramento, Plumas, Sonoma, Alameda, Marin, San Francisco, Napa, Tulare, Kings, Contra Costa, Yuba, Nevada, Santa Cruz, San Luis Obispo, Tuolumne, San Joaquin

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.