FloraFinder.org
Home   About Us   FAQ  
Searching   Image Use Plant Books
x
FloraFinder uses cookies only for correct operation. More info. Okay

Cyperus involucratus Rottb.

Umbrella plant

KingdomPlantaePlants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
SubkingdomTracheobiontaVascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
DivisionMagnoliophytaFlowering plants, also known as angiosperms
ClassLiliopsidaMonocots (plants with a single seed leaf); includes the lily family
SubclassCommelinidaeDayflowers and spiderworts, and several others
OrderCyperalesFlowering plants including grasses
FamilyCyperaceaeSedge family
GenusCyperusFrom an ancient Greek word meaning “sedge”
SpeciesinvolucratusProvided with an involucre, a ring of bracts surrounding or enclosing a head of several flowers

About plant names...

Probably native to Madagascar, the umbrella sedge has become naturalized throughout much of Africa and southern North America. It can become invasive in wet habitats. It is closely related and similar in appearance to the Egyptian papyrus plant.

Identification: These plants most prefer wet, boggy habitats. They grow in dense clumps of triangular stems 2-6′ (60-182 cm) high. Stems are leafless except at the bottom, where there are some inconspicuous basal leaves, and at the tops, where are starlike array of long, narrow grasslike leaves spreads extend in a circle around the stem. Each leaf is 6-15″ (15-38 cm) × ½″ (1.3 cm). At the center there is a cluster of 15-25 greenish spikelet flowers. Individual spikelets are up to ⅜″ (9.5 mm) long.

Online References:

Floridata.com

Forest and Kim Starr’s Starr Environmental site

Calflora

SEINet—the Southwest Environmental Information Network

The Jepson Manual

Cyperus involucratus (umbrella plant)

4/6/2011 · Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens, Druid Hill Park, Baltimore, Mary­land · ≈ 4½ × 3″ (11 × 7.9 cm)

Cyperus alternifolius auct. non L.

Cyperus alternifolius L. ssp. flabelliformis (Rottb.) Kük.

Cyperus flabelliformis Rottb.

 

Cyperus involucratus description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.


 

Cyperus involucratus (umbrella plant)

4/6/2011 · Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens, Druid Hill Park, Baltimore, Mary­land · ≈ 1 × 1½′ (34 × 52 cm)

Cyperus involucratus (umbrella plant)

4/6/2011 · Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens, Druid Hill Park, Baltimore, Mary­land · ≈ 9 × 14″ (23 × 35 cm)

Range: Zones 8-11:

About this map...