Common name: Stiff Flat-sedge
Cyperus vaginatus R.Br. APNI* 
Description: Tussock-forming perennial, occasionally proliferating, with short, thick rhizome.
Culms terete, rigid, smooth, to 100 cm high, to c. 3 mm diam.
Leaves reduced to sheaths except in juvenile plants. Inflorescence simple or compound, with 4–12 primary branches to 6 cm long but often less, or sometimes head-like; digitate clusters to 20 mm diam.; involucral bracts mostly 5–8 exceeding inflorescence, with apex acute but not pungent, rather rigid. Spikelets flattened, 4–15 per cluster, 5–18 mm long, 2–2.8 mm wide in side view, 8–40-flowered; rachilla not winged, persistent. Glumes short-mucronate, with 3-nerved midrib, 2–2.5 mm long, red-brown to straw-coloured. Stamens 3. Style 3-fid.
Nut trigonous, obovoid to ellipsoid, scarcely half as long as glume, 0.6–0.8 mm long, c. 0.5 mm diam., grey-brown.
Flowering: spring.
Distribution and occurrence: Grows along creeks; in the New England region, extending east to Curricabark, the Capertee Valley, south to Wellington and west to Narrabri.
NSW subdivisions: NC, CC, NT, NWS, CWS, NWP
Other Australian states: Qld Vic. W.A. S.A. N.T.
Text by K. L. Wilson
Taxon concept: Flora of NSW 4 (1993)
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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