Cyperus parishii

Parish's flatsedge

Family: Cyperaceae · Type: annual · Native

Parish's flatsedge is a California native annual found in southwestern desert and desert mountain regions on streambanks and roadsides at elevations below 800 meters. Flowering from July to October, this plant produces red to red-purple flowers in spheric spikes with spikelets 6 to 22 millimeters long. Growing in dense tufts 5 to 25 centimeters tall with multiple slender rays, it forms delicate, open inflorescences. Its flower bracts are elliptic, medially green with distinctive red, red-purple, or red-brown edges and 7 to 9 prominent veins. The small fruit is 1 to 1.3 millimeters long, wide-elliptic, and dark purplish-brown.

Habitat: Streambanks, roadsides

Bloom period: Jul-Oct

Elevation: < 800 m

Bioregions: SW, D

California counties: Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, Humboldt, San Diego

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