Cyperus digitatus Roxb., Cyperaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  no

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: chang xiao sui suo cao

English: digitate cyperus, finger flat sedge

French: souchet digité

Spanish: cortadera

Habit:  sedge

Description:  "Tall perennial with short, erect, woody rhizome.  Culms tufted or solitary, 60-150 (-200) cm tall, 3-7 mm tick, triquetrous above, trigonous below, smooth.  Leaves few to several, shorter than to equaling the culm; blades linear 1- or 3-costate, flat to plicate, 5-10 (-15) mm wide, herbaceous, or subcoriaceous, scabrous on margins, gradually long-acute at apex; sheaths up to 30 cm long, mostly stained with brownish purple or dusky brown.  Anthela compound or decompound, 15-40 cm long and as wide, rather dense; leafy bracts 3 to 8, patent, most of those overtopping the anthela, the longer ones up to 60 cm long and 10 mm wide, often colored at base with purplish-brown; primary rays 4 to 10, unequal, stiffly patent, smooth, the longer ones 10-30 cm long; secondary rays short, up to 3 cm long; bracteoles shorter than to nearly equaling the anthelule.  Spikes 4 to 10, digitate, cylindrical, 3-6 cm long, 1.5-3 cm wide, sublaxly bearing many spikelets; rhachis narrowly winged, glabrous.  Spikelets rectangularly spreading, linear, 6-20 mm long, 1-1.5 mm wide, weakly flattened, 8-30 (-40)-flowered, straw-coloured; rhachilla straight, the internodes 0.5 mm long, winged, the wings semitranslucent, caducous.  Glumes narrowly elliptic to elliptic, acute at apex, keeled on back, 1.8-2.2 mm long, c. 1 mm wide, membranous, obscurely 1- or 2-nerved along the costa, pale straw-coloured or weakly stained with reddish-brown, the keel greenish or brownish, ending at apiculate apex, not forming a mucro.  Achenes oblong-elliptic to oblong-obovate, trigonous, 0.9-1 mm long, 0.4-0.5 mm wide, yellow-brown; style up to 3 times as long as the achene; stigmas 3.  Stamens 3; anthers 0.5 mm long" (Dassanayake, 1983; p. 170).

Habitat/ecology:  In Venezuela, "damp shores, ditches, marshes, 0-500 m" (Berry et al., 1998; p. 529).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Pantropic with its range extending north into southern China and Formosa; abundant in South America and southern Asia, relatively scarce in tropical Africa and Australia" (Dassanayake, 1983; p. 170).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Anatahan Island	native	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 66)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Floreana Group	Floreana Island	introduced invasive	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Palau Palau (Belau ) (main island group)	Babeldaob Island		Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 66)
Palau Palau (Belau ) (main island group)	Koror (Oreor) Island		Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 66) Presence not verified.
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	New South Wales	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Cambodia Cambodia	Cambodia (Kingdom of)		Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (p. 64)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Costa Rica (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Panama (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013) Open areas in forests, ditches, wet places; near sea level to 1800 m. Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong, SE Xizang, Yunnan
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Negara Brunei Darussalam Brunei	Brunei (Negara Brunei Darussalam)		Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (p. 64)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	native	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 31) Common
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Colombia	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Perú (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Taiwan Taiwan Island	Taiwan Island	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013) Open areas in forests, ditches, wet places; near sea level to 1800 m.
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	United States (other states)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Texas
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)

Control:  If you know of control methods for Cyperus digitatus, please let us know.