Cyperus alternifolius (Umbrella Papyrus)

Native to tropical and southern Africa, Madagascar and the Arabian Peninsula, it is a perennial sedge that spreads by creeping rhizomes. Commonly called umbrella papyrus, it grows in permanently wet places along streams, rivers and lakes. Upright stems end in a spreading circle of long, narrow, leaf-like bracts. These bracts surround a branching inflorescence; the true leaves are reduced to sheaths at the stem bases. Clusters of flattened spikelets contain the small flowers, with coverings that turn golden to reddish brown. The fruits are tiny three-sided nutlets. Cultivated widely as an ornamental, the species has become naturalized in Colombia. Photographed in Bogotá, Colombia.