Cyperus strigosus

False nutsedge

Family: Cyperaceae · Type: perennial · Native

False nutsedge is a California native perennial found in moist habitats including pond margins and roadsides at elevations below 1,000 meters. Flowering from July to October, this sedge produces pale brown to straw-colored flowers in compact spikes 1 to 5 centimeters wide. Growing with stems 5 to 70 centimeters tall that have a distinctive corm-like base, it forms clusters with multiple slender rays. Its inflorescence bracts are 3 to 6 in number, extending 5 to 30 centimeters, with each spike containing 15 to 50 narrow spikelets. The plant develops fruits that are narrow-elliptic, measuring 1.8 to 2.4 millimeters long.

Habitat: Moist soils, pond margins, roadsides

Bloom period: Jul-Oct

Elevation: < 1000 m

Bioregions: CA

California counties: Butte, Colusa, Sutter, San Diego, Ventura, Imperial, Nevada, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Plumas, Mariposa, El Dorado, Amador, Contra Costa, Merced, Humboldt, Tuolumne, Calaveras, Fresno, Siskiyou, Tulare, Sacramento, Mendocino, Tehama, Glenn, Placer, Stanislaus, Yuba, San Joaquin, Santa Barbara

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