Cyperus fuscus

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Brown flatsedge
Cyperus Fuscus crop.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Cyperaceae
Genus: Cyperus
Species:
C. fuscus
Binomial name
Cyperus fuscus
Synonyms [3]
Homotypic synonyms
    • Cyperus fuscus var. vulgarisSchrad.
    • Eucyperus fuscus(L.) Rikli
Heterotypic synonyms
    • Cyperus calidusA.Kern.
    • Cyperus compressusKrock.
    • Cyperus forskaoliiA.Dietr.
    • Cyperus fuscus f. calidus(A.Kern.) Asch. & Graebn.
    • Cyperus fuscus var. condensatusKük.
    • Cyperus fuscus var. nigricansNeilr.
    • Cyperus fuscus var. pallescensHusn.
    • Cyperus fuscus f. serotinusBolzon
    • Cyperus fuscus var. subjuncellusKük.
    • Cyperus fuscus var. virescens(Hoffm.) Vahl
    • Cyperus fuscus var. virescens(Hoffm.) Schrad.
    • Cyperus fuscus subsp. virescens(Hoffm.) Arcang.
    • Cyperus fuscus f. virescens(Hoffm.) Vahl
    • Cyperus fuscus subsp. virescens(Hoffm.) K.Richt.
    • Cyperus haworthiiGray
    • Cyperus protractusDelile
    • Cyperus sabaudusBillet ex Gave
    • Cyperus virescensHoffm.
    • Cyperus viridisKrock.

Cyperus fuscus, also known as brown galingale or brown flatsedge, is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family Cyperaceae. It is native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa. It was introduced into North America.

Contents

Description

Cyperus fuscus is an annual herb with paper-thin stems reaching 30 centimeters in maximum height. There may be short, flat leaves about the base of the plant. The inflorescence contains three to 15 spikelets, which are flat, oval or rectangular, and dark brown to deep purple. Each spikelet has around ten flowers enclosed in dark bracts. The fruit is a light brown achene about a millimeter long.

Taxonomy

Cyperus fuscus was named and described by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1753. [2] As of February 2026, the botanical name Cyperus fuscusL. is widely accepted. [3] [4]

Distribution and habitat

Cyperus fuscus is native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa from England, Portugal and Morocco eastward to China and Thailand. [3] In China, it is found in swamps, river margins, and other wet places including paddy fields. [5]

Cyperus fuscus was introduced into North America where it is naturalized in widely scattered locations in the United States and Canada. [6] European botanists were aware of its presence in North America as early as 1825. [7] It was first collected in Essex County, Massachusetts in 1877. [8] By 1998, it had spread to the following states and provinces: California, Connecticut, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, Ontario, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Virginia. [9] Subsequently it was discovered in Arkansas, Mississippi, Michigan, Minnesota, and Quebec. [10] It grows in damp, disturbed soils along emergent shorelines. [11]

Conservation

In the UK, Cyperus fuscus is one of 100 species named as a priority for conservation by the conservation charity Plantlife. [12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lansdown, R.V. (2013). "Cyperus fuscus". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Cyperus fuscusL.". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens . Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 "Cyperus fuscusL.". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  4. ↑ "Cyperus fuscusL.". WFO Plant List. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  5. ↑ Dai, Lun-Kai; Tucker, Gordon C.; Simpson, David A. "Cyperus fuscus". Flora of China. Vol. 23. Retrieved 4 February 2026– via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  6. ↑ Kartesz, John T. (2014). "Cyperus fuscus". State-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  7. ↑ Sprengel (1825), p. 223.
  8. ↑ Knowlton et al. (1911).
  9. ↑ McKenzie et al. (1998).
  10. ↑ Oldham & Bickel (2019).
  11. ↑ Tucker, Gordon C.; Marcks, Brian G.; Carter, J. Richard (2002). "Cyperus fuscus". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 23. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 4 February 2026– via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  12. ↑ "Species under our care". Plantlife. Archived from the original on 2009-01-20. Retrieved 2009-11-05.

Bibliography


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