Plants of
South Australia
Cyperus concinnus
Cyperaceae
Trim Flat-sedge
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Regional Species Conservation Assessments per IBRA subregion.
Least concern
Near threatened
Rare
Vulnerable
Endangered
Critically endangered
Extinct
Data deficient
Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
Innamincka
Marla
Marree
Mount Gambier
Oodnadatta
Renmark
Wudinna
Keith
Yunta
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Etymology

Cyperus from the Latin 'cyperos' and derived from the Greek 'kypeiros', an ancient Greek name used by Homer and Theophrastus for several plants of this genus. Concinnus from Latin meaning neat or trim, alluding to the species compact and attractive habit.

Distribution and status

Found in the far north-east corner of South Australia growing on red sandy soils on the margins of ephemeral water bodies. It is all found in all mainland States. Native. Rare in South Australia. Rare in Victoria. Uncommon in Western Australia. Common in the other States.
Herbarium region: Lake Eyre
NRM region: South Australian Arid Lands
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Tufted perennial sedge with very short rhizome. Stems trigonous, scabrous above, slightly swollen at base, to 65 cm high and 3 mm diameter. Leaves shorter or a little longer than the stem to 2 mm wide. Inflorescence compound with 3–5 primary branches to 4 cm long arranged in clusters; involucral bracts leaf-like, 1–3 much exceeding inflorescence. Spikelets flattened, 1–6 per cluster, to 10 mm long and 2.5 mm wide;12–32-flowered, dark red-brown to blackish. Flowers in spring and summer. Fruits are flat reddish-brown loose fruit cluster. Seeds are pale brown ovoid triangular seed to 0.4 mm long and 0.3 mm wide, with a tuberculate surface. Seed embryo type is capitate.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between October and May. Collect fruits by picking off the mature heads, those turning reddish brown and come-off easily. Place the heads in a tray and leave to dry for one to two weeks. Then rub the heads with a rubber bung to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to separate any unwanted material. Store the seeds with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice, in an air tight container in a cool and dry place.

Seeds stored:
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LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA170,000 (2.72 g)100+8-May-2011DJD2175
Lake Eyre
1-Jan-2012 +5°C, -18°C
Location: BGA — the seeds are stored at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, MSB — the seeds are stored at the Millennium Seed Bank, Kew, England.
Number of plants: This is the number of plants from which the seeds were collected.
Collection location: The Herbarium of South Australia's region name.
% Viability: Percentage of filled healthy seeds determined by a cut test or x-ray.