Cyperus eragrostis

Tall cyperus

Family: Cyperaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Tall cyperus is a California native perennial found in the California Floristic Province in vernal pools and streambanks at elevations below 700 meters. Flowering from May to November, this plant produces beige flower bracts 2 to 2.3 millimeters long in spheric heads 1.5 to 4 centimeters wide. Growing with stems 10 to 90 centimeters tall, the plant develops complex inflorescences with 4 to 8 bracts and up to 10 rays extending 20 to 100 millimeters. Its flower clusters contain 20 to 70 oblong spikelets, each 5 to 20 millimeters long with distinctive three-part stigmas. The small fruit is fine-netted, black or dark brown, approximately 1.2 to 1.4 millimeters long with a beaked tip.

Habitat: Vernal pools, streambanks

Bloom period: May-Nov

Elevation: < 700 m

Bioregions: CA-FP

California counties: Humboldt, Sutter, Butte, San Diego, San Bernardino, Riverside, Los Angeles, Kern, Orange, Tehama, Yuba, Alameda, Amador, Calaveras, Contra Costa, Fresno, Glenn, Lake, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Monterey, Napa, Placer, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Tulare, Tuolumne, Ventura, Yolo, Colusa, San Joaquin, El Dorado, Nevada, Solano, Del Norte, Plumas, Trinity, Kings, Siskiyou, Imperial, San Benito

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