Four-angle Flatsedge
Cyperus tetragonus
Found in maritime forests and dunes, edges of brackish marshes. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 88%
- Height
- Up to about 32 inches
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to standing water
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- July to September
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 45 Florida counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.
Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.
Coastal marshes flooded by salty or brackish tides.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 78 animals.
- Pine SiskinCarduelis pinus
- Purple FinchCarpodacus purpureus
- Red-shouldered HawkButeo lineatus
- Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis
- Red-winged BlackbirdAgelaius phoeniceus
- Ruby-crowned KingletRegulus calendula
- Ruby-throated HummingbirdArchilochus colubris
- Rusty BlackbirdEuphagus carolinus
- Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatus
- Song SparrowMelospiza melodia
- Summer TanagerPiranga rubra
- Tufted TitmouseBaeolophus bicolor
- Turkey VultureCathartes aura
- White IbisEudocimus albus
- White-eyed VireoVireo griseus
- White-throated SparrowZonotrichia albicollis
- Yellow-bellied SapsuckerSphyrapicus varius
- Yellow-billed CuckooCoccyzus americanus
- Yellow-breasted ChatIcteria virens
- Yellow-crowned Night-heronNyctanassa violacea
- Yellow-rumped WarblerDendroica coronata
- American RedstartSetophaga ruticilla
- Baltimore OrioleIcterus galbula
- Chuck-will's-widowCaprimulgus carolinensis
Who uses this plant?
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
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
Plant details
- Family
- Cyperaceae
- Flower color
- Green or brown
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “July to September” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Green or brown” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 32 inches” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Dry; Moist; Water; Wet (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Four angle Flatsedge
Conservation status
| Florida rank | S4 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G4 |
| FL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Atlas of Florida Plants
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- 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

























