Asian Spikesedge

Cyperus metzii

Also listed as Kyllinga squamulata

Found in lawns, turf farms, athletic fields, golf courses, other disturbed areas. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

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Not native

Not native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 59%

Light: Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture: Dry to wet

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At a glance

Bloom: June to September

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Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 34 Florida counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

11CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL

Genus host records with ranges including FL · 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
Bactra cultellana
Bactra philocherda

Show all 11

Cosmopterix attenuatella

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

—BeesSoutheastern regional records

—Specialist 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

Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Cyperaceae

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Bloom · “June to September” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Soil · “Dry; Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia

Also known as

Kyllinga sqamulata; Kyllinga squamulata

Conservation status

Florida rank	SNA
Global rank	G5
FL status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

Native alternatives

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