Kyllinga brevifolia

Short leaf spikesedge

Family: Cyperaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Short leaf spikesedge is a naturalized perennial found in the Central Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, and southwestern California in pond edges and moist disturbed areas at elevations below 300 meters. Flowering from May to September, this plant produces white to pale green flowers in small, dense spikes 4 to 7 millimeters long. Growing with erect stems 2 to 55 centimeters tall, it forms compact clumps in wet habitats. Its leaves are narrow, measuring 1.5 to 3.5 millimeters wide, with prominent midribs and transparent, veined flower bracts. The fruit is a small, elliptic-oblong brown seed approximately 1 to 1.3 millimeters long.

Habitat: Pond edges, moist disturbed areas

Bloom period: May-Sep

Elevation: < 300 m

Bioregions: GV, SnFrB, SW

California counties: Sacramento, San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Butte, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, Marin, Kings, Yuba, Tehama

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