Cyperus alternifolius L.

Tufted perennial, 50-150 cm. Rhizome rather short, horizontal. Stem 4-7 mm diam., obtusely trigonous, smooth to finely scabrous. Leaf blades reduced; sheaths to more than 30 cm, coriaceous, upper yellowish or grey, lower reddish brown or black brown, mouth margin oblique; ligule 0; blades 0. Inflorescence a compound anthelodium, 3-13 cm; bracts 18-22, to more than 30 cm, to 15 mm wide, foliose or upper filiform, green or greyish-green, acute, flat, margins narrowly recurved, margins and main nerves smooth or variously scabrous; primary branches up to c. 10 cm, spreading, smooth or slightly scabrous, almost terete, tubular prophyll green or brownish, basal part spongy; secondary anthelodia 10-30 mm, with bracts to c. 5 mm; tertiary anthelodia occasional; cluster of spikes 5-10 mm, globose, with 5-25 spirally arranged spikes ; spikes 3.5-9 x c. 2 mm, with 7-30 closely imbricating glumes, glume-like bract scarious, c. 1.2 mm, glume-like prophyll bi-nerved, rounded, c. 1.2 mm; rachis four-angled, c. 0.5 mm wide, internodes c. 0.5 mm, not markedly winged; glumes c. 1.5 mm, cymbiform, lanceolate to elliptic, mid-nerve pronounced, barely reaching apex, margins scarious, colourless or pale brown. Stamens 3. Nut c. 0.6-1 x 0.3-0.5 mm, ellipsoid or obovoid, trigonous, light brown or dark greyish brown, finely papillose.

Distribution: Area of subsp. flabelliformis covers the area of the species; subsp. alternifolius originates from Madagascar and the Mascarenes, where it was not collected recently, but cultivated in botanical gardens.

Robust perennial, with a 2-10 cm thick creeping woody rhizome. Culms 25-150 cm × 1.5-7 mm, with sheaths and scales below. Leaves 0. Inflorescence a compound anthela, 5-25 cm in diameter, subtended by numerous (15-25) leafy involucral bracts; bracts 10-35 cm × 3-20 mm, spirally arranged. Secondary subumbels composed of few-many stalked inflorescence clusters. Spikelets flattened, brown, 15-30 flowered, arranged in digitate clusters. Glumes 1-2 mm, straw-coloured or golden to reddish-brown, shining; midrib 3-keeled. Stamens 3. Stigmas 3. Nutlet 0.8-0.9 mm, brownish, minutely papillose.

Frequent

Cyperus alternifolius, the umbrella papyrus, umbrella sedge or umbrella palm, is a grass-like plant in the very large genus Cyperus of the sedge family Cyperaceae. The plant is native to West Africa, Madagascar and the Arabian Peninsula, but widely distributed throughout the world. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. The subspecies Cyperus alternifolius ssp. flabelliformis is also known as Cyperus involucratus Rottb..