Green Flatsedge

Cyperus virens

Found in marshes and ditches. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

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Not native

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

Profile 71%

Height: Up to about 3 feet 4 inches
Light: Full sun
Soil moisture: Moist to wet

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At a glance

Life cycle: Perennial
Bloom: May to November

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Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 1 Virginia county.

Natural habitats

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

1 of 2

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

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

Freshwater marshes

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

All habitats

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)

—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

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

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 · “May to November” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Flower color · “Green or brown” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Height · “Up to about 3 feet 4 inches” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Light · “Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Soil · “Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia

Conservation status

Virginia rank	Not available
Global rank	G5
VA status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

Native alternatives

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