Two new sedges in sports turfs have been found in Arizona. These are Kyllinga brevifolia, known as green kyllinga, and Cyperus aristatus, known as awned cyperus. Both repoduce by rhizomes and seeds but neither produces tubers. These sedges canimpart a weedy appearance to turf due to their upright growth habitat and color differences, and thereby lower turf quality.

Two new sedges have been found in Arizona in Phoenix and Tucson. Kyllinga brevifolia, known as green kyllinga or flatsedge, is a perennial, pantropic species that grows well in the irrigation turfs of Arizona (1). It is not known to be a problem in agricultural crops but is more commonly associated with pastures and turfs. It is found in greater abundance in California and the southeast United States. The rhizome is branched and the root system fibrous. The rhizome may be largely responsible for the perennial nature of this species because green kyllinga can survive when mowed to less than 0.25 inches. However, it is also capable of reporducing by seeds. The stems (culms) that bear the seed head arise at 0.3 to 1.0 cm intervals along the rhizome andn may reach 20 cm. Each seedhead is capable of forming 40 to 100 seed that are deciduous when mature. The seeds are small (1 mm long) and are capable of spreading by wind or water. Green kyllinga is capable of forming dense mats that can compete effectively with bermudagrass. It is dark green under well fertilized conditions although it is pale green more closely resembling bermudagrass when fertility decreases.

Cyperus aristatus Rottb., also known as C. inflexus Muhl., is found throughout California, along the east coast from Vermont to Florida, and in the Gulf coast states in wet, sandy soils (2,3). It is an annual sedge. The mature plant is composed of slender leaves and culms from 1 to 20 cm tall. The compact growth form gives a tufted appearance although new shoots arise from short rhizomes. The culms are slender and terminate in an umbel that is sessile. Leaves subtending the umbel are two or three that may be longer than than the stem. Spikelets are linear oblong with 6 to 10 flowers. There may be three to eight spikelets per culm. Awned cyperus did not appear to be strongly competitive with bermudagrass when observed under field conditions and had a testure and color that blended in well.

Free hand drawings of green kyllinga and awned cyperus are found on the following page. Drawings are approximately to scale.

1. Weed Handbook of Western Polynesia, W. A. Whistler, Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit GmbH, Eschborn, p. 78 (1983).

2. Illustrated Flora of the Northern States and Canada, N. L. Britton and A. Brown , Scribners,Lancaster, Pa. Vol. 1, p. 237 (1896).

3. Growers Weed Identification Handbook, Publication 4030, Division of Agricultural and Natural Resources, University of California, Oakland, CA, p. 237 (1991).
 

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