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Toothed Flatsedge

Cyperus dentatus

Found in low sandy areas, sand and cobble bars, sandy shorelines, Shenandoah Valley sinkhole ponds. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

35
Good

Native to West Virginia (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 88%

Height
Up to about 20 inches
Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Wet to standing water
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At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
July to October

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

County records are not available.

Natural habitats

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

Sinkhole ponds

Ponds and wet depressions in limestone sinkholes of the interior valleys and plateaus (karst), separate from the Coastal Plain's limesink ponds.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV

Genus host records with ranges including WV · Cyperus

  • Bactra verutanaJavelin Moth
  • Diploschizia impigritellaYellow Nutsedge Moth
  • 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
Not applicable

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

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Toothed Flat Sedge

Conservation status

West Virginia rankSNR
Global rankG4
WV statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources