Common Name: spectacular flatsedge

Duration: Perennial

Nativity: Native

Lifeform: Graminoid

General: Rhizomatous perennial with rhizomes 1-10 cm long, 2-5 mm in diameter, densely covered in reddish brown scales, arising as single stems 1-3 cm apart, 0.5-2.5 mm in diameter, 30-70 cm tall, densely scabrous or hirtellate or even smooth on upper half of stem.

Vegetative: Leaves 3-5, 7-30 cm long, 1.5-3.5 mm wide, flat to v-shaped, often becoming involute in drying, smooth except for scattered prickles on keel and margins in upper third.

Inflorescence: Bracts 3-5, 3-12 cm long, 0.5-3 mm wide, v-shaped, margins and keel scabrous, borne horizontally to reflexed downward parallel to stem; spikes 1-3, sessile and densely congested as to make individual spikes indistinguishable from each other; spikes 20-35 mm long, 10-30 mm wide, densely ovoid to oblong-ovoid, rachis 8-20 mm long, spikelets 25-50, 4-12 mm long, 2-3 mm wide, elliptic to linear, compressed-quadrate, greenish to straw colored, 3-10 deciduous scales, oblong-elliptic to broadly lanceolate, 1.8-2.5 mm long, 1.5-2 mm wide, blunt to sharp tipped; achenes 1-2 mm long, 0.7-1 mm wide, three sided, oblong-ellipsoid, distinctly apiculate, concave faces, finely to distinctly papillose, brown to reddish brown.

Ecology: Found in dry sites in oak pine woodlands, grasslands, desert scrub and disturbed areas from 4,500-6,000 ft (1372-1981 m); flowers July-October.

Notes: Tucker 1994 refers to the infraspecific variation in this species as -bewildering-. If there is a variety to be had in our region, it will be var. asperrimus. There is some thought that var. manimae will be found in the region but less certain is var. divergens. Var. asperrimus is distinguished by having rough stems while var. manimae has smooth stems and blunt brown scales, and var. divergens has smooth stems and distal scales on the spikelets with cusps about 1 mm long.

Ethnobotany: Unknown

Etymology: Cyperus is from the Greek word meaning sedge, while manimae is of uncertain origin.

Synonyms: None

Editor: SBuckley, 2010