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Umbrella Grass

Cyperus alternifolius, Cyperaceae

Sources last read 14 September 2026.

Not yet rated How forgiving it is has not been judged here yet.

Also called Umbrella Palm, umbrella plant and Umbrella Sedge.

Umbrella Grass (Cyperus alternifolius), the whole plant.
Feloidea, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Toxicity is partly unassessed

  • Not assessed for cats. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Not assessed for dogs. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Not assessed for people. RHS publishes no harm statement for this plant. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.

What the sources say about its care

Light
Full sun, Partial shade
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Water
Poorly-drained
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Humidity

No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.

ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%
Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Temperature

How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.

H3 — -5 to 1°C -5 to 1 °C
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Soil
Loam; pH Acid or Alkaline or Neutral
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to cats
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to dogs
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Harmful to people
No statement of harm to people is published for this plant; that absence is not evidence it is safe.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Routine care

Watering
Whether grown in a water garden or as a houseplant (in a container standing in a tray of water), grow it in standing water or keep its soil moist. Unsuitable water conditions can cause brown leaf tips.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Keep the container standing in a shallow tray of water so it has plenty of moisture at all times.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Feeding
Feed monthly with a balanced liquid feed in the growing season.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Propagation
By division or stem cuttings.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Divide, or stand a cut stem upside down in water; plantlets grow from the crown of the stem while it is underwater.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Pruning
Cut off dead or dying stems.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Pests and diseases
Usually free of pests and diseases.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Move something and watch

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Close view of Umbrella Grass (Cyperus alternifolius) foliage.
Close upBooksworm, Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Umbrella Grass (Cyperus alternifolius) growing wild.
In the wildAlex Abair, CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

About the plant

Cyperus alternifolius, the umbrella papyrus, umbrella sedge or umbrella palm, is a grass-like plant in the large genus Cyperus of the sedge family Cyperaceae. The plant is native to West Africa, Madagascar and the Arabian Peninsula, but widely distributed throughout the world. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. The subspecies Cyperus alternifolius ssp. flabelliformis is also known as Cyperus involucratus Rottb..

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026

Native range
Trop. & S. Africa, Madagascar, Arabian Pen.
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Africa and the Arabian Peninsula
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Africa & Arabian Penin.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Climate
wet tropical
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Growth form
perennial or rhizomatous geophyte
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Ornamental Grasses and Sedges, Perennial, Water Plant; habit clumping, erect, multi-stemmed
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Clump forming, Columnar upright (semi evergreen)
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Size
Height 18–48 in; width 24–36 in
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Height 0.5-1 metres; spread 0.1-0.5 metres after 2–5 years
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Flowering
Flowers green, white; blooms in fall, summer
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Flowers brown in summer and autumn
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Uses

What sources record people using this plant for. A traditional or medicinal use listed here is a record of use, not advice to eat it or treat anything with it.

Houseplants, containers, pools and ponds, arrangements
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026

Other Cyperus

More of the Cyperaceae family

Plants with similar care

Sources

What this does not cover

The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.

Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.

If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.