Cyperus odoratus L.

vernacular fragrant flatsedge — species · Cyperaceae

USDA: CYOD
GBIF: 2715219
Rank: species

fragrant flatsedge (Cyperus odoratus) — Platephotograph · Zihao WangCC BY source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Growth habit: Graminoid
Duration: Annual, Perennial
Group: Monocot
Family: Cyperaceae Juss.
Genus: Cyperus

§2a

Native status, by region

CAN Canada Native
HI Hawaii Native
L48 Lower 48 States Native
PB Pacific Basin (except Hawaii) Native
PR Puerto Rico Native
VI U.S. Virgin Islands Native

§2b

County-level range

· 3 counties across 1 state

Legend Native · 3 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought: Low
Shade: High
Moisture use: Medium
Fire: None
Salinity: Medium
Anaerobic: Medium
CaCO₃: Medium
Hedging: None

§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance: 42 °F minimum
Frost-free days: 80 min.
Precipitation: 18–55 in/yr
pH range: 5–8.3
Root depth: 8 in min.
Fertility need: Medium
Soil texture: coarse, medium

§3c

Form & growth

Growth form: Bunch
Growth rate: Moderate
Lifespan: Short
Mature height: 2 ft
Foliage texture: Fine
Foliage colour: Green
Porosity (summer): Moderate
Porosity (winter): Porous
Flower colour: Brown
Fruit colour: Black
Fire resistant: No
N fixation: None
Toxicity: None

§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period: Late Summer
Seed abundance: Medium
Seed begins: Summer
Seed ends: Fall
Spread rate: Moderate
Stratify: No
Propagation: sprigs

§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability: Routinely Available
Nursery stock: No
Graze palatability: Low
Palatable, human: No
Lumber: No
Christmas tree: No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 3 counties across 1 state.

Rhode Island view state ↗ 3 N ▾

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/CYOD ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/2715219 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T18:27:19Z