Fragrant Flatsedge
Cyperus odoratus
Found in low fields, marshes, ditches, sandbars. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
42
Good
Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- About 2 feet
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Moist to standing water
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Bloom
- July to September
- Fruiting season
- Summer to fall
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Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves
Recorded in 37 Alabama counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.
Habitats
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground; freshwater marshes; streams, rivers and their banks.
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 117 animals.
- Acadian FlycatcherEmpidonax virescens
- Alder FlycatcherEmpidonax alnorum
- American Black DuckAnas rubripes
- American CootFulica americana
- American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos
- American GoldfinchCarduelis tristis
- American KestrelFalco sparverius
- American RedstartSetophaga ruticilla
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- American WoodcockScolopax minor
- Baltimore OrioleIcterus galbula
- Bank SwallowRiparia riparia
- Barred OwlStrix varia
- Belted KingfisherMegaceryle alcyon
- Black VultureCoragyps atratus
- Black-and-White WarblerMniotilta varia
- Black-billed CuckooCoccyzus erythropthalmus
- Black-crowned Night-heronNycticorax nycticorax
- Blue GrosbeakPasserina caerulea
- Blue JayCyanocitta cristata
- Blue-gray GnatcatcherPolioptila caerulea
- Blue-winged WarblerVermivora pinus
- Broad-winged HawkButeo platypterus
- Brown CreeperCerthia americana
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
9CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
Genus host records with ranges including AL · Cyperus
- Argyrotaenia ivanaIvana Leafroller Moth
- Bactra verutanaJavelin Moth
- Diploschizia impigritellaYellow Nutsedge Moth
- Elasmopalpus lignosellaLesser Cornstalk Borer
- Euphyes pilatkaSawgrass Skipper, Palatka Skipper, Coastal Sedge Skipper, Keys Sawgrass Skipper[for subspecies Euphyes pilatka klotsi]
- Euphyes vestrisDun Skipper, Dun Sedge Skipper, Sedge Witch)\
- Globia oblongaOblong Sedge Borer Moth, Large Noagria
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Cosmopterix attenuatella
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
22BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Cyperus
- Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
- Anas acutaNorthern Pintail
- Anser albifronsGreater White-fronted Goose
- Antigone canadensisSandhill Crane
- Aythya affinisLesser Scaup
- Aythya collarisRing-necked Duck
- Aythya valisineriaCanvasback
- Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
- Colinus virginianusNorthern Bobwhite
- Columbina passerinaCommon Ground Dove
Show all 22
- Cyrtonyx montezumaeMontezuma Quail
- Dendrocygna bicolorFulvous Whistling-Duck
- Falcipennis canadensisSpruce Grouse
- Gallinula galeataCommon Gallinule
- Mareca americanaAmerican Wigeon
- Mareca streperaGadwall
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
- Molothrus aterBrown-headed Cowbird
- Pooecetes gramineusVesper Sparrow
- Porzana carolinaSora
- Spizella pusillaField Sparrow
- Tympanuchus pallidicinctusLesser Prairie-Chicken
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Cyperaceae
- Flower color
- Brown
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Growth habit
- Grows in clumps
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Summer
- Fruit ends
- Fall
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “July to September” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Brown” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit ends · “Fall” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Grows in clumps” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Height · “About 2 feet” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Moist; Water; Wet (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Fragrant Flat Sedge; Rusty Flats Sedge
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| AL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
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Sources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications