E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Cyperus esculentus L.
yellow nut-grass (yellow nutsedge)
Cyperaceae (Sedge family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants
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Distribution of Cyperus esculentus
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SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC
Cyperus esculentus var. leptostachyus

Species Information

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General:
Perennial or annual, sweet-scented herb from long, slender, scaly rhizomes, terminating in small tubers up to 15 mm wide; stems solitary, stout, sharply triangular, 10-70 cm tall.
Leaves:
Clustered at the bases; blades elongate, mostly 3-8 mm wide, shorter than to exceeding the stem.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of dense, more or less elongate, head-like clusters with more or less elongate stalks, the terminal clusters unstalked, the others borne singly or in small groups at the ends of rays up to 7 cm long, each cluster with 5 to 16 spikes, the spikes 0.5-5 cm long, the spikelets 6- to 22-flowered, 1-2.5 cm long, linear to egg-shaped, ascending to spreading; stamens 3; involucral bracts 2 to 9, elongate, unequal, sometimes a little wider than the leaves, usually several surpassing the inflorescence.
Fruits:
Scales several-nerved, the lowest ones shorter, broad, much overlapping laterally, but not closely set, mostly (2) 2.5-3 (4) mm long, the tips surpassing the ones below them by 1.1-1.7 mm, not recurved; rachillas broadly and translucently winged, persistent, the scales falling from them at maturity; achenes unequally 3-angled, 1.3-2 mm long.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

USDA Species Characteristics

Flower Colour:
Green
Blooming Period:
Mid Summer
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Yellow
Present from Summer to Fall
Source:  The USDA

Habitat / Range

Moist to mesic cultivated fields in the lowland zone; rare in the lower Fraser Valley; introduced from Europe.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Additional Photo Sources

General References