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Sheathed Flatsedge

Cyperus haspan

Found in tidal marshes, other marshes, ponded depressions, low fields, ditches, waterfowl impoundments, weed in rice fields. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

38
Good

Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

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Height
About 3.2 feet
Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Wet to standing water
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Bloom
July to October
Fruiting season
Summer to fall

Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves

Recorded in 10 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

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

1 of 4

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Yellow butterwort beside a moss-hung coastal pond
Regional / representative. Shown: Southern coastal pond margins, Florida and Louisiana to North Carolina; state not identified, a neighboring state.Yellow butterwort beside a moss-hung coastal pond, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal tidal marshes (salinity not stated)

Tidal marshes of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts where the source does not say whether the water is fresh, brackish or salt. A stated salinity files the marsh under freshwater tidal marshes or salt and brackish marshes instead.

Freshwater marshes

Open, herb-covered wetlands with fresh, non-tidal water.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

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

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 79 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

7CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Cyperus

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

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 October” · 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 3.2 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 · “Water; Wet (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as

Haspan Flat Sedge; Sheathed Flat Sedge

Conservation status

Virginia rankS3
Global rankG5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources