Common Name: tropical nutrush
Family: Cyperaceae
Common Synonyms: Ophryoscleria microcarpa
USDA Hardiness Zone: NA
Growth Habit: Graminoid
Origin: Tropical Americas
FISC Category: -
FDACS Listed Noxious Weed: No
Introduction Date: 2007
IFAS Assessment:
Typical-looking wetland sedge up to 1.25 m tall with triangular stems and 3-ranked leaves. Leaf blades are linear, 5 - 20 cm long and 0.5 - 0.9 cm wide, with a scabrous margin. The leaf blade is decurrent at the base, with the sheath extending wing-like down the stem to the collar. The contraligule (flap of tissue at the top of the sheath opposite the leaf blade) is lanceolate. Achenes are unprotected (lacking surrounding bracts) which is diagnostic of this species in Florida. The hypogynium (located at the base of the achene) is cup-shaped with a ciliate margin.
Swamps and lake shores
Specimen Identified in Florida in 2016 around Lake Hatchineha, Polk County. Little is known about invasiveness or control.
Treatment tip from Alex Onisko, SFWMD.
Affonso, R., A. Zanin, N.A. Brummitt. 2015. Diversity of Scleria (Cyperaceae) in Santa Catarina, Brazil. Rodriguesia, 66(2), 353-367. Accessed online on 05 January 2017: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2175-78602015000200353&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en