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Cyperaceae family

Slimjim Flatsedge Cyperus gracilis

Slimjim Flatsedge is an introduced perennial grass, found in Hawaii and the lower 48 states.

More about this plant

Cyperus gracilis, commonly known as slender flat sedge and slimjim flatsedge, is a species of sedge native to Australia. The species epithet gracilis refers to the graceful form of the leaves. Wikipedia →

⚠ Invasive here — plant a native instead USDA + GBIF

Slimjim Flatsedge is flagged invasive in the U.S. These natives fill a similar niche — same growth habit, bloom season, height, and region — so you keep the look and feed local wildlife instead of spreading a problem.

Daly River Satinash
Native
Daly River Satinash
Syzygium nervosum
●●●●○
Sweet Acacia
Native
Sweet Acacia
Vachellia farnesiana
●●●●○
Star Sedge
Native
Star Sedge
Carex echinata
●●●○○
Star Sedge (subsp. echinata)
Native
Star Sedge (subsp. echinata)
Carex echinata subsp. echinata
●●●○○
Matched on growth habit · bloom months · mature height · shared U.S. range (USDA + GBIF) — a starting point, not a prescription.

Growing & care

USDA PLANTS · TRY
Conditions
Sources · Conditions
Cold hardiness (derived) — Hardiness
Hardiness
≥ zone 11 derived from its U.S. range
Size & form
Sources · Size & form
USDA PLANTS — Lifespan
TRY Plant Trait Database (CC BY 4.0) — Foliage
Lifespan
Perennial
Foliage
Broadleaf
In the garden
Herb layer — Sits in the herb of a layered food forest or polyculture.Open guide →
derived roles
Species characteristics from USDA PLANTS (public domain) + TRY (CC BY) — general guidance, not a guarantee for your exact site. Deer "browsing" is documented palatability, not a deer-proof claim.

Wildlife & pollinators

How pollinator value is scored →
❧ Caterpillar hosts ~5 caterpillar species

Cyperus supports ~5 caterpillar species.

Native butterfly & moth caterpillars are the base of the terrestrial food web — most songbirds rear their young almost entirely on them. As a host for native Lepidoptera this is a modest genus.

Recorded feeding on Cyperus in North America, including:

Bactra lanceolana · leafroller moth Bactra verutana · Javelin Moth Cosmopterix attenuatella · cosmet moth Dasychira cinnamomea · Cinnamon Tussock Moth Elasmopalpus lignosellus · Lesser Cornstalk Borer Euphyes pilatka · Palatka Skipper
+ 4 more species →
Euphyes vestris · Dun Skipper Loxostege sticticalis · snout moth Paralipsa gularis · snout moth Spodoptera frugiperda · Fall Armyworm Moth
Keystone count (genus-level) from Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use records. Named species (a documented Nearctic sample, not exhaustive) from NHM HOSTS (CC0).
Species thumbnails re-hosted from iNaturalist — Creative Commons, credited per image (hover for credit). Click any species to see it on iNaturalist. Not exhaustive; many taxa have no openly-licensed photo yet.
Sources for this entry (14) Open & cited
[01] Scientific name & family — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[02] Growth habit & duration — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[03] Native status & distribution — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[04] Common name — USDA PLANTS (via GBIF)
[05] Invasive / introduced status — US-RIIS v2.0 (USGS)
[06] Wetland indicator — USACE National Wetland Plant List (2022)
[08] Description — Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
[09] Ecological value — Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[11] Cold hardiness (derived) — Derived from U.S. range × USDA PHZM zones
[12] Caterpillar host count — Warren II 2026 (Dryad, CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[13] Caterpillar species — NHM HOSTS (CC0)
[14] County range — GBIF Open Data — open-licensed occurrences (CC0/CC-BY) → county
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PlantKey’s data is open under CC BY-SA 4.0 — free to reuse and adapt, with attribution and the same licence. Photos keep their own per-image licence + credit (see Sources above).

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