Cyperus fuscus

{{Short description|Species of plant}}

{{Speciesbox

|name = Brown flatsedge

|image = Cyperus Fuscus crop.jpg

|status =

|status_system =

|genus = Cyperus

|species = fuscus

|authority = L.

}}

Cyperus fuscus is a species of sedge known by the common name brown galingale,{{BSBI 2007|accessdate=2014-10-17}} or brown flatsedge. This plant is native to much of Europe, Asia, and North Africa from England, Portugal and Morocco then towards east to China and Thailand. It is an introduced species in North America, where it is naturalized in widely scattered locations in the United States and Canada.[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=236743 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families][http://luirig.altervista.org/flora/taxa/index1.php?scientific-name=cyperus+fuscus Altervista Flora Italiana, Zigolo nero, Brown Flatsedge, Cyperus fuscus L. ][http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200026687 Flora of China Vol. 23 Page 226 褐穗莎草 he sui suo cao Cyperus fuscus Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 46. 1753. ][http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=200026687 Flora of North America, Vol. 23 Page 157, Cyperus fuscus Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 46. 1753. ][http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Cyperus%20fuscus.png Biota of North America Program, 2013 county distribution map]

Cyperus fuscus is a plant of wet areas, particularly disturbed places such as ditches and temporary ponds. It is an annual herb with paper-thin stems reaching 30 centimeters in maximum height. There may be short, flat leaves about the base of the plant. The inflorescence contains three to 15 spikelets, which are flat, oval or rectangular, and dark brown to deep purple. Each spikelet has around ten flowers enclosed in dark bracts. The fruit is a light brown achene about a millimeter long. In the UK, Cyperus fuscus is one of 101 species named as a priority for conservation by the conservation charity Plantlife.{{cite web |url=http://www.plantlife.org.uk/index.html |title=Plantlife: The Wildflower, wild plant and fungi conservation charity |access-date=2009-11-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100127055822/http://www.plantlife.org.uk/index.html |archive-date=2010-01-27 }} Plantlife website