Cyperus erythrorhizos

Red rooted cyperus

Family: Cyperaceae · Type: annual · Native

Red rooted cyperus is a California native annual found in the Central California Foothills and Coastal Ranges and southern desert regions in ditches, riverbanks, and shoreline habitats at elevations below 500 meters. Flowering from July to October, this plant produces small flowers in cylindric-ovoid spikes with multiple brownish spikelets 3 to 11 millimeters long. Growing with erect stems 5 to 100 centimeters tall, it develops distinctive reddish roots that give the plant its characteristic name. Its slender leaves are arranged around multiple bracts, with 3 to 11 inflorescence bracts extending 5 to 70 centimeters long. The plant produces tiny fruits approximately 0.7 to 1 millimeter long, with unequal sides and a light gray to brown glossy surface.

Habitat: Ditches, riverbanks, shores

Bloom period: Jul-Oct

Elevation: < 500 m

Bioregions: CA-FP, DSon

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

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