Yellow Flatsedge
Cyperus flavescens
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in low fields, ditches, marshes, especially where seasonally flooded. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Louisiana (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- About 2 feet
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Moist to standing water
At a glance
- Bloom
- July to September
- Fruiting season
- Summer to fall
Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves
Recorded in 15 Louisiana parishes.
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.
Open, herb-covered wetlands with fresh, non-tidal water.
Who uses this plant?
9CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA
Genus host records with ranges including LA · 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
Plant details
- Family
- Cyperaceae
- Flower color
- Red
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- 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” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Red” · 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 · “Rapid” · 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 · “Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Moist; Water; Wet (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Yellow Flat Sedge
Conservation status
| Louisiana rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| LA 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
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- Louisiana occurrence source
- 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