Taxon: Cyperus involucratus Rottb.

Summary

Genus:

Cyperus

Family:

Cyperaceae

Subfamily:

Cyperoideae

Tribe:

Cypereae

Nomen number:

12898

Place of publication:

Descr. pl. rar. 22. 1772

Verified:

05/06/2012 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

3 (3 active, 1 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Cyperus alternifolius L. subsp. flabelliformis Kük.
Cyperus flabelliformis Rottb.

No images

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
Arnold, T. H. & B. C. De Wet, eds. 1993. Plants of southern Africa: names and distribution. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa no. 62
Baijnath, H. 1975. A study of Cyperus alternifolius L., sens. lat. (Cyperaceae). Kew Bull. 30:521-526.
CIBA-GEIGY, Basel, Switzerland. Documenta CIBA-GEIGY (Grass weeds 1. 1980, 2. 1981; Monocot weeds 3. 1982; Dicot weeds 1. 1988) Note: four books on weeds worldwide in scope
Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Gordon-Gray, K. D. 1995. Cyperaceae in Natal Note: = Cyperus alternifolius subsp. flabelliformis Kuk.
Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges. Note: = Cyperus alternifolius subsp. flabelliformis Kuk.
Haines, R. W. & K. A. Lye. 1983. Sedges and rushes of East Africa
Jessop, J. P. & H. R. Toelken, eds. 1986. Flora of South Australia, ed. 4.
Kukkonen, I. 1990. On the nomenclatural problems of Cyperus alternifolius. Ann. Bot. Fenn. 27:59-66. Note: = Cyperus alternifolius subsp. flabelliformis Kuk.
Miyazaki, A. et al. 1997. On the photosynthetic production and water cleaning ability of Cyperus alternifolius L. grown by the floating culture system. Jap. J. Crop Sci. 66:325-326.
Molina G., A. M. 2011. Review of Cyperaceae data for World Economic Plants, ed. 2. pers. comm. via e-mail on 31 Mar.
Stanley, T. D. & E. M. Ross. 1983-1989. Flora of south-eastern Queensland.
Thulin, M., ed. 1993-. Flora of Somalia. Note: = Cyperus alternifolius subsp. flabelliformis Kuk.
Tucker, G. C. 1994. Revision of the Mexican species of Cyperus (Cyperaceae). Syst. Bot. Monogr. 43:20.
Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea. Note: mentions
Walters, S. M. et al., eds. 1986-2000. European garden flora.

Common names

Language	Name	note	seq	Citation
English	flat sedge		1	CIBA-GEIGY, Basel, Switzerland. Documenta CIBA-GEIGY (Grass weeds 1. 1980, 2. 1981; Monocot weeds 3. 1982; Dicot weeds 1. 1988) Note: four books on weeds worldwide in scope
English	umbrella sedge		1	Mabberley, D. J. 1997. The plant-book: a portable dictionary of the vascular plants, ed. 2
English	umbrella-plant	as Cyperus alternifolius	1	1961. Webster's third new international dictionary. Note: = Cyperus alternifolius
Portuguese	cipero-de-jardim		2	Molina G., A. M. 2011. Review of Cyperaceae data for World Economic Plants, ed. 2. pers. comm. via e-mail on 31 Mar.
Swedish	parasollsäv		2	Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Kenya			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Tanzania			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Uganda			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Eritrea			Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Ethiopia			Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Somalia			Thulin, M., ed. 1993-. Flora of Somalia.
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Sudan			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Angola			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Malawi			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Mozambique			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zambia			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zimbabwe			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	KwaZulu-Natal		Arnold, T. H. & B. C. De Wet, eds. 1993. Plants of southern Africa: names and distribution. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa no. 62
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Burundi			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Democratic Republic of the Congo			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Rwanda			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	Western Indian Ocean	Madagascar			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	Western Indian Ocean	Mauritius			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Africa	Western Indian Ocean	Reunion			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Arabian Peninsula	Saudi Arabia			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Arabian Peninsula	Yemen			Wood, J. R. I. 1997. A handbook of the Yemen flora.
2	Cultivated					also cult.	Walters, S. M. et al., eds. 1986-2000. European garden flora.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Macaronesia	Cabo Verde			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Macaronesia	Portugal	Azores		Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Macaronesia	Spain	Canarias		Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Northern Africa	Egypt			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Northern Africa	Morocco			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
4	Naturalized	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Benin			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	China	China		s.	Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Taiwan			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
4	Naturalized	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Pakistan			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
4	Naturalized	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Sri Lanka			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
4	Naturalized	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Thailand			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
4	Naturalized	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Indonesia			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
4	Naturalized	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Philippines			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
4	Naturalized	Australasia	New Zealand	New Zealand			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Baja California (Norte)		Tucker, G. C. 1994. Revision of the Mexican species of Cyperus (Cyperaceae). Syst. Bot. Monogr. 43:20.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Chihuahua		Tucker, G. C. 1994. Revision of the Mexican species of Cyperus (Cyperaceae). Syst. Bot. Monogr. 43:20.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Nuevo León		Tucker, G. C. 1994. Revision of the Mexican species of Cyperus (Cyperaceae). Syst. Bot. Monogr. 43:20.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Sinaloa		Tucker, G. C. 1994. Revision of the Mexican species of Cyperus (Cyperaceae). Syst. Bot. Monogr. 43:20.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Sonora		Tucker, G. C. 1994. Revision of the Mexican species of Cyperus (Cyperaceae). Syst. Bot. Monogr. 43:20.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Tamaulipas		Tucker, G. C. 1994. Revision of the Mexican species of Cyperus (Cyperaceae). Syst. Bot. Monogr. 43:20.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	South-Central U.S.A.	United States	Texas		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Florida		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Louisiana		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Chiapas		Tucker, G. C. 1994. Revision of the Mexican species of Cyperus (Cyperaceae). Syst. Bot. Monogr. 43:20.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Ciudad de México		Tucker, G. C. 1994. Revision of the Mexican species of Cyperus (Cyperaceae). Syst. Bot. Monogr. 43:20.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Colima		Tucker, G. C. 1994. Revision of the Mexican species of Cyperus (Cyperaceae). Syst. Bot. Monogr. 43:20.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Jalisco		Tucker, G. C. 1994. Revision of the Mexican species of Cyperus (Cyperaceae). Syst. Bot. Monogr. 43:20.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Morelos		Tucker, G. C. 1994. Revision of the Mexican species of Cyperus (Cyperaceae). Syst. Bot. Monogr. 43:20.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Oaxaca		Tucker, G. C. 1994. Revision of the Mexican species of Cyperus (Cyperaceae). Syst. Bot. Monogr. 43:20.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Tabasco		Tucker, G. C. 1994. Revision of the Mexican species of Cyperus (Cyperaceae). Syst. Bot. Monogr. 43:20.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave		Tucker, G. C. 1994. Revision of the Mexican species of Cyperus (Cyperaceae). Syst. Bot. Monogr. 43:20.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Yucatán		Tucker, G. C. 1994. Revision of the Mexican species of Cyperus (Cyperaceae). Syst. Bot. Monogr. 43:20.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southwestern U.S.A.	United States	California		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Pacific	North-Central Pacific	United States	Hawaii		Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
4	Naturalized	Pacific	South-Central Pacific	French Polynesia	Society Islands		Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
4	Naturalized	Pacific	Southwestern Pacific	Fiji			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Caribbean	Jamaica			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Caribbean	United States	Puerto Rico		Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Central America	Costa Rica			Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.

Native
Africa

NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia
EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
WEST-CENTRAL TROPICAL AFRICA: Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda
SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Angola, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe
SOUTHERN AFRICA: South Africa [KwaZulu-Natal]
WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN: Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion

Asia-Temperate

ARABIAN PENINSULA: Saudi Arabia, Yemen

Cultivated (also cult.)
Naturalized
Africa

MACARONESIA: Cabo Verde, Spain [Canarias], Portugal [Azores]
NORTHERN AFRICA: Egypt, Morocco
WEST TROPICAL AFRICA: Benin

Asia-Temperate

CHINA: China (s.)
EASTERN ASIA: Taiwan

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: Sri Lanka, Pakistan
INDO-CHINA: Thailand
MALESIA: Indonesia, Philippines

Australasia

NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand

Northern America

SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Florida, Louisiana]
SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [Texas]
SOUTHWESTERN U.S.A.: United States [California]
NORTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Baja California (Norte), Chihuahua, Nuevo León, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas]
SOUTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Chiapas, Ciudad de México, Colima, Jalisco, Morelos, Oaxaca, Tabasco, Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, Yucatán]

Pacific

NORTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: United States [Hawaii]
SOUTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: French Polynesia [Society Islands]
SOUTHWESTERN PACIFIC: Fiji

Southern America

CARIBBEAN: Jamaica, United States [Puerto Rico]
CENTRAL AMERICA: Costa Rica

Reference(s)

Arnold, T. H. & B. C. De Wet, eds. 1993. Plants of southern Africa: names and distribution. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa no. 62
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Govaerts, R. & D. A. Simpson. 2007. World checklist of Cyperaceae, sedges.
Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
Thulin, M., ed. 1993-. Flora of Somalia.
Tucker, G. C. 1994. Revision of the Mexican species of Cyperus (Cyperaceae). Syst. Bot. Monogr. 43:20.
Walters, S. M. et al., eds. 1986-2000. European garden flora.
Wood, J. R. I. 1997. A handbook of the Yemen flora.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Environmental	ornamental		Walters, S. M. et al., eds. 1986-2000. European garden flora.
Environmental	ornamental	as Cyperus flabelliformis	Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada Note: as Cyperus flabelliformis
Environmental	pollution control		Miyazaki, A. et al. 1997. On the photosynthetic production and water cleaning ability of Cyperus alternifolius L. grown by the floating culture system. Jap. J. Crop Sci. 66:325-326.
Materials	fiber	as Cyperus alternifolius subsp. flabelliformis	Kukkonen, I. 1990. On the nomenclatural problems of Cyperus alternifolius. Ann. Bot. Fenn. 27:59-66. Note: as Cyperus alternifolius subsp. flabelliformis
Medicines	folklore	as Cyperus alternifolius subsp. flabelliformis	Simpson, D. A. & C. A. Inglis. 2001. Cyperaceae of economic, ethnobotanical and horticultural importance: a checklist. Kew Bull. 56:282. Note: as Cyperus alternifolius subsp. flabelliformis
Social	religious/secular	as Cyperus alternifolius subsp. flabelliformis	Simpson, D. A. & C. A. Inglis. 2001. Cyperaceae of economic, ethnobotanical and horticultural importance: a checklist. Kew Bull. 56:282. Note: as Cyperus alternifolius subsp. flabelliformis
Weed			CIBA-GEIGY, Basel, Switzerland. Documenta CIBA-GEIGY (Grass weeds 1. 1980, 2. 1981; Monocot weeds 3. 1982; Dicot weeds 1. 1988) Note: four books on weeds worldwide in scope

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=12898. Accessed 12 May 2026.