Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Poales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Cyperus brevifolius
FAMILY
Cyperaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
C. brevifolius is always less than 1' tall, often < 6", connected via horizontal rhizomes. The inflorescence is a dense head, which is pale green. C. brevifolioides (which is apparently not native in the U.S.) also has long rhizomes, but its longest floral bract sticks out horizontally or is generally reflexed (vs. erect in C. brevifolius). Read more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Kyllinga brevifolia
FAMILY
Cyperaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Cyperus brevifolius
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 23 (2002)
Kyllinga brevifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Kyllinga brevifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH The genera of Cyperaceae in the southeastern United States (Tucker, 1987)
Kyllinga brevifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 030-01-001:
Cyperus brevifolius FAMILY Cyperaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Cyperus brevifolius
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Kyllinga brevifolia
COMMON NAME:
Perennial Greenhead Sedge, Greenhead Flatsedge
NameThatPlant has no pictures at this time. You might try this link: Flora of the Southeastern United States
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Cyperus brevifolius
FAMILY
Cyperaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Kyllinga brevifolia
FAMILY
Cyperaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Cyperus brevifolius
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 23
Kyllinga brevifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Kyllinga brevifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH
The genera of Cyperaceae in the southeastern United States (Tucker, 1987)
Kyllinga brevifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 030-01-001:
Cyperus brevifolius
FAMILY
Cyperaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Cyperus brevifolius
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Kyllinga brevifolia
4667
Grass, Sedge, or Rush
Perennial
Habitat: Moist soils of fields, ditches, lawns, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Uncommon in Coastal Plain of GA & SC (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Basal
RHIZOMES? STOLONS?
Rhizomes elongate or short
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Heads pale green
Bracts 3-4, unequal, to 25cm long
Superior ovary
Bisexual
Inflorescences unbranched (the spikes sessile)
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Nutlets yellowish to dark brown
Spikelet with one nutlet enclosed by two scales
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".