Ricefield flat sedge

 

Scientific Name: Cyperus difformis L.
Family: Cyperaceae

MORPHOLOGY

Habit and Size: Annual herbaceous plant, with a highly variable height ranging from 20 to 60 cm.

Stem: Erect stems, irregularly triangular in cross-section, long bare sections at the top, generally solitary.

Leaves: Short, flat, thin leaves (2-4 mm wide), with generally dark sheaths.

Flowers: Inflorescence with 3-8 short or nearly absent branches, spherical heads (10-15 mm in diameter), typically forming a compact cluster; 2-3 leafy bracts; spikes 3-8 mm, generally with 10-15 flowers. Blooms from May to September.

Fruits and Seeds: The fruit is a caryopsis.

DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT

Found from Tuscany northward, excluding Trentino-Alto Adige and Friuli-Venezia Giulia, also present in Sicily. It is a weed in rice paddies and can also be found in periodically flooded moist sands, from sea level up to 300 meters.

Photo Credits: Freely licensed from iNaturalist