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Home / Browse / Cyperus / Manyspike Flatsedge (var. miser)
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Pictured: Cyperus polystachyos — the species. This variety isn’t separately illustrated.
Cyperaceae family

Manyspike Flatsedge (var. miser) Cyperus polystachyos var. miser variety

Native

Manyspike Flatsedge (var. miser) is an annual grass native to Hawaii.

More about this plant

Cyperus polystachyos, also known as Pycreus polystachyos, and also called manyspike flatsedge in the US, or bunchy sedge, coast flatsedge, many-spiked sedge or Texas sedge in Australia, is a herbaceous species in the family Cyperaceae, widespread in tropical and subtropical areas around the world, sometimes extending its range into temperate regions. Wikipedia →

Growing & care

USDA PLANTS · TRY
Size & form
Sources · Size & form
USDA PLANTS — Lifespan
Lifespan
Annual
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 (11) 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 — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503) — native status
[06] Description — Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
[07] Ecological value — Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[08] Conservation rank — NatureServe Explorer (CC BY)
[09] Caterpillar host count — Warren II 2026 (Dryad, CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[10] Caterpillar species — NHM HOSTS (CC0)
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