BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Cyperus squarrosus
awned cyperus
| Scientific Name: | Cyperus squarrosus L. | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name Synonyms: |
Cyperus aristatus
|
||||||||||
| English Name: | awned cyperus | ||||||||||
| Classification / Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Scientific Name - Concept Reference: | Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR. | ||||||||||
| Classification Level: | Species | ||||||||||
| Species Group: | Vascular Plant | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | CYPESQU | ||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G5 (Jul 2025) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | S4 (Apr 2019) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Yellow | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | |||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | |||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | 4 - Secure (2010) | ||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | |||||||||||
| Technical Description: | |||||||||||
| Similar Species: | |||||||||||
| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
Other Unique Habitats / Vernal Pools/Seasonal Seeps / Obligate
Wetland / Bog / Obligate Wetland / Fen / Obligate Wetland / Marsh / Obligate Wetland / Swamp / Obligate |
||||||||||
| Global Habitat Comments: | Cyperus squarrosus grows in wet depressions and seepages on granitic and other rocks, riverbanks, swales, shores, coastal rock barrens, flood plains, edges of puddles, muddy places, gravelly roadsides, cracks in sidewalks, and other moist disturbed sites (FNA 2002, Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2025). | ||||||||||
| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
|||||||||||
| Elevation (m) (min / max): | Provincial: | ||||||||||
| Known Pests: | |||||||||||
| Pollen Vector: | |||||||||||
| Pollinator: | |||||||||||
| Dispersal: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Inventory | |||||||||||
| Inventory Priority: | |||||||||||
| Ownership of occurrences (Known locations): | |||||||||||
| Inventory Need: | |||||||||||
| Economic Attributes | |||||||||||
| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | N | ||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | Cyperus squarrosus is found throughout much of the world in North America from southern Canada to Mexico, continuing south through the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. It is also native to Africa South of the Sahara Desert, South Asia, and Australia, and exotic in southern Europe (FNA 2002, POWO 2025). Range extent was estimated using herbarium specimens, photo-based observations, and NatureServe Network occurrence data collected between 1994 and 2025 (GBIF 2025, iNaturalist 2025, NatureServe 2025, RARECAT 2025, SEINet 2025). | ||||||||||
| Disjunct, more common elsewhere: | |||||||||||
| Peripheral, major distribution elsewhere: | |||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
| Global Information Author: | Johnson, J. (2025) | ||||||||||
| Last Updated: | Jul 24, 2025 | ||||||||||
| Provincial Information Author: | |||||||||||
| Last Updated: | |||||||||||
| Last Literature Search: | |||||||||||
| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
Douglas, G.W., D. Meidinger, and J. Penny. 2002. Rare Native Vascular Plants of British Columbia, 2nd ed. B.C. Conserv. Data Centre, Terrestrial Inf. Branch, Victoria. 358pp. |
|||||||||||
Douglas, G.W., D. Meidinger, and J. Pojar, eds. 2001. Illustrated Flora of British Columbia, Vol. 6, Monocotyledons (Acoraceae through Najadaceae). B.C. Minist. Environ., Lands and Parks, and B.C. Minist. For., Victoria, BC. 361pp. |
|||||||||||
Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2025. Species Summary: Cyperus squarrosus. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 8, 2026).